Extruded polymeric high transparency films

ABSTRACT

A process for making a protective and decorative surfacing film comprises extrusion coating a solventless polymeric material from an extruder die to form an optically clear first layer on a polyester carrier sheet traveling past the extruder die opening. The extrusion coated first layer is immediately cooled on the carrier sheet to harden it, followed by applying a pigmented second layer to the first layer. The composite paint coat is transferred to a reinforcing backing sheet, after which the carrier sheet is separated from the paint coat to expose the outer surface of the first layer as a high gloss surface with a high distinctness-of-image, providing a transparent protective outer coat for the pigmented second layer. The pigmented second layer can be solvent cast and dried or extruded and hardened as a separate coating on the first layer. The composite paint coat can be bonded to a coextruded size coat and semi-rigid plastic substrate panel to form a thermoformable laminate. Techniques are disclosed for producing extruded clear films of exceedingly high optical clarity using a closed air flow transport and HEPA filtration system that removes airborne particles from the resin handling and extrusion process, thereby preventing micron-sized contaminants naturally present from many sources from entering the process and degrading ultimate film quality.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.08/793,836, filed Aug. 6, 1997, which was published as Internationalapplication Ser. No. WO 96/40480, the entire subject matter of which isincorporated herein by this reference, and this application also claimsthe priority of Provisional application No. 60/111,446, filed Dec. 8,1998.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates generally to the use of solventlessextrusion coating techniques for forming high transparency protectivefilms and multi-layer paint coated films and laminates. Moreparticularly, coatings are made by extrusion coating one or more layersonto a carrier sheet to produce films of high optical quality at highspeeds while avoiding solvent emission problems characteristic of theuse of solvent-based coatings. Techniques are also disclosed forremoving multiple sources of defects from the resin manufacturing,handling and extrusion process, with the result that extruded clearfilms can be produced with an essentially defect-free glass-likeclarity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention is described below with respect to itsapplication to the manufacture of exterior automotive body panels,although other end-uses of the films made by this invention also areconsidered to be within the scope of this invention.

[0004] Exterior automotive body panels have been made in the past byspray painting sheet metal parts. Multi-layer paint coats, such as thosereferred to as a clear coat/color coat paint finish, have been used toproduce desirable optical effects. In addition to high gloss and highdistinctness-of-image (DOI), these paint coats also are highly durableby providing chemical resistance, abrasion resistance and weatherabilitythat significantly reduces degradation by ultraviolet light.

[0005] In more recent years molded plastic car body panels have beenmade with decorative clear coat/color coat paint films bonded to themolded plastic panel. Use of such films avoids certain environmentalproblems associated with evaporation of paint solvents while alsoreducing or eliminating the need for paint facilities and emissioncontrols at the automotive production plant.

[0006] Because of the growing need to reduce the amount of atmosphericpollution caused by solvents emitted during the painting process, manydifferent approaches have been taken in recent years for producing thesedecorative films. These processes are generally categorized by solutioncasting techniques or extrusion techniques. For instance, U.S. Pat. No.4,810,540 to Ellison et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,557 to Rohrbacheruse solution casting techniques in which liquid-cast, solvent-basedclear coats and pigmented base coats are applied to a flexible castingsheet by a coating process such as reverse roll coating or gravureprinting. The liquid cast layers are separately applied and then driedat high temperatures to evaporate the solvents.

[0007] As an alternative, extruded films have been used for makingexterior automotive clear coat/color coat films. InternationalApplication PCT US93 07097 to Duhme describes a process in which aninjection molded laminate is made from an extruded clear coat layer, acolor coat layer, a reinforcing layer laminated to the color coat layer,a bonding layer on a side of the reinforcing layer opposite from thecolor coat, and an injection molded substrate bonded to the bondinglayer. The outer clear coat layer is a coextruded sheet having differentproportions of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and acrylic resins in eachlayer of the coextrusion. An extruded thermoplastic liner layer islaminated to the outer surface of the clear coat layer to assist ininjection molding the paint film laminate to the substrate. Thecoextruded outer clear coat layer is laminated to a polyester carrierwhich supports the clear coat layer during subsequent lamination steps.The outer clear coat layer can optionally be extruded onto thethermoplastic liner layer to provide gloss control. The color coat ismade by solvent casting it on a carrier and laminating the dried paintcoat to the clear coat. The reinforcing layer is laminated to theexposed side of the color coat, and the bonding layer may be coated onor laminated to the reinforcing layer. This process involvestime-consuming multiple coating and lamination steps and slow processingspeeds disclosed in the various examples.

[0008] U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,317,860 and 4,364,886 to Strassel also disclosecoextrusion of multi-layer films such as a two-layer coextrusion ofpredominantly PVDF on one side and a predominantly acrylic resin on theother side of the coextruded sheet. These unitary structures are used tomake molded articles, or to adhere the sheets to a molded polymer.

[0009] Film extrusion techniques also have been used in the past formaking free films in which the extruded polymeric material is coated ona polished drum. These films are then undercoated with various colorcoats. The exterior surface of the extruded free film that contacts thedrum (and is separated from the drum as a free film) does not have ahigh gloss and high distinctness-of-image. Also films manufactured inthis manner do not have a carrier sheet attached, which makes them hardto handle and easily damaged in subsequent processing.

[0010] Another process disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,789 to Reaflercomprises a pigmented base coat which is solvent-die extrusion coatedonto a flexible, stretchable carrier sheet and dried at elevatedtemperatures to evaporate the solvents, followed by extrusion coating areactive clear coat on the base coat. The carrier film and extrusioncoated paint layers are then heat softened as a unitary sheet andapplied to a molded shaped substrate by a shrink wrap process.

[0011] In a currently used process for making exterior automotive paintfilms, a clear coat and color coat comprising blends of PVDF and acrylicresins are cast by reverse roll coater, either by solution or dispersioncasting. The film thickness of the paint coats used in the processgenerally is dictated by end user requirements. In some instances theneed to produce relatively thick films can impose certain productionconstraints. To adequately dry the material and to prevent airentrapment, line speeds are typically at 25 feet per minute. This slowthroughput limits the coating capacity of the reverse roll coater andalso releases a large amount of organic solvents. This solvent releaseis particularly evident when a solution-cast PVDF/acrylic clear coat iscoated from a solvent-based solution having a relatively high amount ofsolvent. VOC emissions are high. PVDF has limited solubility andrequires strong solvents to dissolve. One such solvent known as N-methylpyrrolidone (trade name M-Pyrol) is either needed to solubilize theresin in solution casting or used as a coalescing aid in dispersioncasting. In addition, cross contamination can occur from solubilizingresidual material in previously used drums, hoses, pans, pumps, etc.Also, during coating, the strong solvent can dissolve caked-on resins ina drying oven, causing them to cascade down on the web being coated. Asa further concern, these strong solvents are expensive.

[0012] Thus, there is a need for producing decorative and protectivesurfacing films while avoiding the adverse effects of low productionline speed, high VOC, cross-contamination, and the use of expensivesolvents.

[0013] Extrusion techniques can be an alternative that avoids the use ofstrong solvents and their related solvent emission problems. Extrusiontechniques such as those described above, however, have not beensuccessfully adapted to producing high optical quality films at highline speeds and at low cost.

[0014] application Ser. No. 08/793,836 to Enlow et al. describes asolventless extrusion coating process that provides an alternative toboth solvent casting and conventional extrusion of polymeric films. Useof the extrusion coating techniques of that invention provide theadvantages of avoiding expensive solvents, producing no VOC emissions,and avoiding cross-contamination associated with solvent casting. Inaddition, the invention has the added advantages of greatly increasingline speed, eliminating steps in the manufacturing process, and reducingthe cost of producing clear coat/color coat films. The invention hasparticular applicability to the manufacture of molded plastic exteriorautomotive body panels and parts, in that it provides a means forproducing extruded high gloss, high DOI (distinctness-of-image) clearcoat films of exterior automotive quality.

[0015] It has been recognized that solventless extrusion of polymericmaterials into highly transparent, essentially defect- free thin filmlayers is extremely difficult. When such films are extruded for thepurpose of providing a high gloss protective outer clear coat layer foran automotive laminate, for example, the layer is typically extruded asa thin film approximately one mil to three mils thick. However, thehuman eye catches the slightest defects in such a thin outer clear coatlayer of high gloss and high DOI when compared with thicker filmsextruded as sheets or films that do not have the requirements of highgloss and high DOI.

[0016] It has also been recognized that even when a high gloss outerclear coat film is extruded as an essentially defect-free film, the filmitself can replicate defects present in an underlying laminate to whichit is bonded. For example, in an automotive laminate having an extrudedpolymeric backing sheet and size coat layer, defects can be telegraphedto the surface of a thin protective outer clear coat layer of highgloss. In this instance, defects as small in size as 10 microns or lessin the extruded sub-layers can appear as noticeable defects in the highgloss outer clear coat layer.

[0017] Generally speaking, polymeric films which are solvent cast aremore easily produced as defect-free clear coat films of high gloss andhigh DOI when compared with films made by solventless extrusion ofpolymeric materials. The difficulty arises when extruding engineeringplastics as high gloss, high DOI clear coat films. The extrusion processby its nature generates defects in the extruded material and there areseveral sources of these defects, all of which must be addressed inorder to ensure the optical clarity and smoothness of the finishedextruded film. For example, application Ser. No. 08/793,836 to Enlow etal. describes how high shear and heat generation in an extruded materialcan cause induced haze and gel formation and resultant optical defectsor reduced optical clarity in the extruded film. That publication alsodescribes how reducing heat histories (minimizing heat rise) whencompounding PVDF, acrylic and UV stabilizer starting materials canimprove the quality of films made from those materials. Modifications tothe extrusion process in order to avoid such problems, however, shouldnot adversely affect subsequent thermoforming operations or unreasonablyreduce line speed during the production process.

[0018] The formulation of the starting material also can affect opticalclarity. For instance, an optically clear film made from a blend of PVDFand acrylic resins can be extruded more haze free when the PVDFcomponent of the starting material is reduced from a level of 70% tobelow about 65%.

[0019] Although the effects of gel formation and induced haze areminimized by the processing techniques described above, it has beendiscovered that use of these processing controls may not categoricallyproduce extruded clear films of extremely high transparency free ofdefects because additional defects can be introduced from other sources.

[0020] The present invention is based in part on a recognition that filmquality of a solventless extruded clear film can be adversely affectedby airborne particulate substances that may enter the extrusion processfrom a variety of sources. Failure to remove these contaminants from theprocess can result in noticeable defects in a thin extruded high glossclear film. These defects can adversely affect the finished productwhether they are present in the extruded outer clear coat film or in anunderlying size coat and/or substrate panel to which the protectiveclear film is bonded.

[0021] It has been discovered that micron-size airborne contaminantsfrom various sources can pass through the extrusion process and end upcreating optical defects in the finished product. For instance, dustparticles 10 microns in diameter or less produce noticeable defects inan extruded transparent one mil thick high gloss film. Such defects fromairborne contaminants also may not appear until the finished laminate isthermoformed which can cause the defects to appear at the surface. Suchairborne contaminants can include not only dirt particles from the airbut also fiberglass particles and polymer dust present in the productionplant. These contaminants can be introduced into the extrusion processwhen the resinous starting materials are handled before or after filmextrusion.

[0022] In addition, contaminants may be present in the resinous startingmaterials. Such contaminants may include glass fibers, carbon, metalbits and gels introduced from the resin manufacturing process.

[0023] Thus, a process for solventless extrusion of thin high glossclear coat films must address the problems of: (1) avoiding gelformation and induced haze; (2) avoiding defects being introduced notonly in an extruded outer clear coat film but also in underlyingextruded substrate layers; (3) avoiding film handling problems whilemaintaining high production line speed; (4) avoiding introduction ofcontaminants from the starting materials and during the resin handlingand extrusion process; and (5) providing a finished laminate thatmaintains high gloss and high DOI after the finished part is subjectedto thermoforming temperatures and resultant elongation.

[0024] Although the invention is described above with respect toexterior automotive applications, the invention also has applicabilityas a protective and decorative coating for other articles such asinterior automotive components, exterior siding panels and relatedoutdoor construction products, marine products, signage, window glassand other interior or exterior film products. Vinyl (PVC) siding panelsare an example of one use of the invention for producing outdoorweatherable decorative surfaces on extruded plastic sheets. Theinvention, however, is applicable to plastic substrate panels other thanvinyl, such as polycarbonate, for example. The invention is particularlyapplicable to protective films having a requirement of high transparencyfree of optical defects, i.e., any protective film that would haveglass-like optical properties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0025] The present invention provides a process for solventlessextrusion of engineering resins to form highly transparent glass-likeweatherable optically clear films essentially free of optical defects.The invention avoids introduction of defects from gel formation; avoidsinduced haze that reduces transparency; avoids defects present not onlyin an outer clear coat but also in an underlying coextruded bondinglayer and supporting substrate panel; promotes material handling at highproduction speeds; avoids introducing airborne contaminants and otherdefects throughout the process that would otherwise cause micron sizeoptical defects in thin high gloss extruded outer clear films; andproduces thermoformable laminates that maintain high gloss and high DOIsufficient for exterior automotive use, as one example.

[0026] Briefly, one embodiment of this invention comprises a process formaking a protective and decorative surfacing film comprising extrusioncoating a solventless polymeric material from an extruder die directlyonto a moving carrier sheet to form an extruded coating of uniform filmthickness on the carrier sheet. The carrier sheet is preferably a highgloss, heat-resistant inelastic polymeric casting sheet. The extrusioncoated layer is preferably formed as an optically clear first layer onthe carrier which travels at high speed past the extruder die opening.The extrusion coated first layer is immediately hardened by atemperature reduction, such as by contact with chill roll, followed byapplying a pigmented second layer in thin film form on the hardenedfirst layer, to form a composite paint coat. In one embodiment thiscomposite paint coat is laminated to a bonding layer coextruded with asupporting substrate sheet or panel. The carrier sheet is separated fromthe resulting laminate to expose an outer surface of the extrusioncoated first layer as a high gloss surface with a highdistinctness-of-image.

[0027] Another embodiment of the invention provides a process for theextrusion of high gloss, high transparency clear films from aparticulate resinous starting material essentially free of airbornecontaminants, comprising holding the resinous starting material in acontainer, withdrawing the resinous material from the container andpassing at least a portion of the resinous material through a dryer, andtransporting the dried resinous material to an extrusion apparatus. Theresinous material is conveyed from the container through the dryer andto the extruder in a closed air flow transport system in which the resintransport air is subjected to high efficiency (HEPA) filtration toremove micron size contaminants (defined herein as particles lower thanabout 10 microns in diameter) from the airflow that transports theresinous material. The resinous material is extruded as a transparentfilm essentially free of micron size defects.

[0028] The system for removing airborne contaminants includes a closedairflow conveying system subjected to high efficiency (HEPA) airfiltration for transporting the resinous materials (1) to the extruder,(2) to and from a blending apparatus when used for blending multipleresinous materials prior to extrusion, and (3) to and from the dryer forremoving any moisture from the extrudable resinous materials. Inaddition to filtering transport air in the closed resin transportsystem, the invention also removes airborne particles from productionequipment with which the extruded film comes in contact. This includesremoval of airborne particles attracted to the carrier sheet web bystatic electric charges and steps for cleaning adherent particles fromsurfaces of the traveling carrier sheet before and after the extrusionstep.

[0029] Such high efficiency (HEPA) air filtration is preferably adaptedto remove any airborne particulate matter below five microns indiameter, and more preferably below one micron in diameter, from theresin handling and extrusion process.

[0030] Although various polymeric film-forming materials can be used forforming the extrusion coated outer layer, the preferred extrudablematerial is a blend or alloy of a fluoropolymer and an acrylic resin inwhich the fluoropolymer is preferably polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF).

[0031] The pigmented second layer, in one embodiment, can be solventcast onto the extrusion-coated first layer, or alternatively, the firstand second layers can be formed as a coextrusion which is then coatedonto the moving carrier sheet.

[0032] Other forms of the invention include coextruding various layersof the composite laminate including not only the clear coat andunderlying color coat but also the size coat, tie coat and otherfunctional coats as well, including the backing sheet or other substratepanel, sheet or film. The carrier can also be extruded in tandem withthe other layers of the laminate. The HEPA filtration techniques forremoving airborne particles from the resins are applicable to theextrusion of each of these component layers and their startingmaterials.

[0033] Since one or more layers of the composite paint coat can beextrusion coated using solid (solventless) polymers, the process avoidsthe use of expensive solvents and also avoids VOC emissions andcross-contaminations associated with solvent casting. The process alsocan reduce production time and costs. A line speed for extrusion coatingcan be at least 50 feet per minute and more commonly in excess of 200feet per minute, as compared to 25 feet per minute for solvent castingtechniques. In one embodiment, extrusion coating is carried out at aline speed in excess of 300 feet per minute and can be operated at aline speed approaching 380 feet per minute.

[0034] Such improvements in line speed and related improvements inquality of the extrudate are produced by controlling the compatibilityof the blended polymeric materials that comprise the backbone of theextruded material. By matching the melt viscosities of the blendedpolymeric materials in that they are reasonably close to each other, theflow characteristics of the alloyed material when heated to theextrusion temperature produce a smooth, more uniform flow which alsoavoids stress formation and visual defects in the hardened film. Theprocessing techniques for melt blending the starting materials and forextrusion coating the resultant film are especially useful whenpreparing transparent films from alloys of PVDF and acrylic resins.

[0035] These techniques when combined with the HEPA filtration removalof airborne particles produce films and laminates of exceedingly highoptical clarity.

[0036] These and other aspects of the invention will be more fullyunderstood by referring to the following detailed description and theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram generally illustrating oneembodiment of the invention in which a clear coat is extrusion coatedonto a carrier sheet followed by a solvent cast color coat.

[0038]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process of applying arelease coat or gloss control coat to a carrier sheet and then extrusioncoating a clear coat on the release-coated carrier sheet.

[0039]FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a further step in theprocess in which the clear coat/color coat film is transfer-laminated toa thin semi-rigid backing sheet.

[0040]FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an alternativesubsequent step in the process in which a paint film is applied to abacking sheet while the sheet is being formed by the sheet extruder.

[0041]FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating final steps of theprocess in which the laminate produced by the steps shown in FIGS. 3 or4 is vacuum-formed and then injection molded to produce a finishedpanel.

[0042]FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating multiplelayers of the finished paint coated panel of FIG. 5.

[0043]FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of theinvention in which resins and additives are compounded by melt blendingin an extruder to produce homogeneous pellets for use in the extrusioncoating process.

[0044]FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment in whicha coextruded substrate is formed, followed by a coextruded color coatand clear coat to which a carrier sheet is applied at the extrusioncoating/laminating station.

[0045]FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment in whicha sheet containing a substrate, size coat, color coat and clear coat asshown in FIG. 8 is formed and extrusion coated with a carrier sheetrather than applying it at a laminating station.

[0046]FIGS. 10 and 11 are schematic cross-sectional diagramsillustrating an in-mold process where a laminate is placed directly intoan injection mold and molded into a finished panel.

[0047]FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment in whicha substrate is coextruded in sheet form, followed by extrusion coating asize coat, a color coat and a clear coat, followed by introduction of acarrier sheet.

[0048]FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of theinvention in which a carrier sheet is co-extrusion coated with a clearcoat with a coating of a color coat, an optional extrusion coating of aPVC color coat, and transfer of a pressure sensitive adhesive.

[0049]FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating an extrusion coatingprocess and a process avoiding introduction of airborne contaminants toproduction equipment coming into contact with an extruded film in aprocess for producing essentially defect-free extruded clear coat films.

[0050]FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating processing steps whichinclude a HEPA air filtered resin transport and dryer system forpreventing introduction of airborne contaminants to the resinousstarting material for the process of FIG. 14.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051]FIG. 1 schematically illustrates one embodiment of the inventionin which a clear coat film 10 (also referred to as a clear topcoat) isextrusion coated onto a flexible carrier sheet 12. The carrier sheet ispreferably a flexible, heat-resistant, inelastic, self-supporting highgloss polyester (PET) temporary casting sheet. In one embodiment, thecarrier sheet can be a two mil thick biaxially oriented polyester filmsuch as that sold under the designation Hostaphan 2000 polyester filmsby Hoechst Celanese Corp. The carrier sheet can be optionally releasecoated as described below.

[0052] The clear coat preferably comprises a solid polymeric materialthat can be extruded as a transparent film. The clear coat polymer is asolid polymer in the sense that it contains essentially no solvents thatrequire high temperature exposure for drying or otherwise hardening theclear coat film. The resulting film is a melt cast film in the sensethat it is produced by melting the extrudable polymeric startingmaterial and coating it onto the casting sheet through the narrowextrusion die. The film is cast on the traveling carrier sheet atproduction speeds without added solvents to produce the film-formingmaterial. This process results in a level of molecular orientation inthe finished film.

[0053] The polymeric material can comprise various thermoplastic,thermoformable and weatherable polymers such as acrylics, urethanes,vinyls, fluoropolymers, and blends thereof. Polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF) and polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) are preferred fluoropolymers. Apresently preferred extrudable polymeric material comprises a blend oralloy of PVDF and acrylic resins. The preferred acrylic resin ispolymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or copolymers thereof, although polyethylmethacrylate (PEMA) also can be used. In a presently preferredformulation the clear coat material comprises from about 50 percent toabout 70 percent PVDF and from about 30 percent to about 50 percentacrylic resin, by weight of the total solids present in the PVDF/acrylicformulation. These solids ranges are based on the relative proportionsof the PVDF and acrylic components only in the clear coat formulation.Other minor amounts of solids such as UV stabilizers, pigments, andfillers also may be contained in the clear coat formulation.

[0054] The blended clear coat polymeric material is preformed as anextrudable dry particulate material in pellet form fed from a hopper 14to an extruder having an extruder die 16 adjacent the surface of thecarrier sheet. The carrier sheet is provided as a supply roll 18, isunwound, and travels at a high line speed past the extruder die opening.In one embodiment, line speed exceeds 200 feet per minute. The carrierwraps around a pressure roll 15 below the extruder die. The die extrudesthe polymeric material vertically through a narrow slot to form a thinlow viscosity coating of a melt of uniform thickness that uniformlycoats the carrier sheet which is continuously moving at high speed pastthe extruder die slot. Extrusion temperature is in excess of 340° F.,and in some instances can approach 450° F. The entire thickness of thecoating for the pass under the extruder die is applied across the widthof the carrier. The coated web passes through the nip of the pressureroll 15 and a chill roll 17 below the extruder. The nip pressure appliedby the pressure roll provides smoothing of the exposed face of thecoating. The extruded coating is immediately cooled by contact with thechill roll 17 which hardens the extruded clear coat layer. The extrusioncoated carrier is wound as a take-up roll 20.

[0055] A pigmented color coat material 22 is solvent cast on theextruded clear coat side of the carrier 12. The color coat 22 cancomprise various polymers used as binders for paint films such asthermoplastic, thermoformable and weatherable acrylics, urethanes,vinyls, fluoropolymers and blends thereof. The fluoropolymers preferablycomprise PVDF or copolymers of PVDF resins. The preferred color coatformulation is a blend of copolymers of PVDF and an acrylic resin.Preferably, the acrylic component can comprise PMMA, although PEMA alsocan be used. In addition, reflective flakes can be uniformly dispersedin the color coat to produce automotive films having a metallicappearance. Formulations for solvent casting the color coat formulationare described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,697 to Spain et al.which is incorporated herein by this reference. Following solventcasting of the color coat on the clear coat, the color coat is dried atelevated temperatures to evaporate the solvents, and the paint coatedcarrier is then wound as a take-up roll 38.

[0056] An optional size or adhesive coat may be applied to the colorcoat side of the carrier sheet.

[0057] In another embodiment of the invention, the clear topcoat 10 canbe extrusion coated in thin film form generally ranging from about 0.1mil to 3.0 mils in thickness onto the surface of the carrier 12. Thickertop coats may be used for certain multi-layer films containing a basecoat with reflective flakes. The carrier is preferably an orientedpolyester casting film such as DuPont Mylar A or Hoechst Hostaphan 2000.The thickness of carrier sheet can be from 0.5 mil to 3.0 mils thick,but preferably 1.4 to 2.0 mils functions best for subsequent coating andlamination operations, that is, for web control and heat transferproperties.

[0058] In this embodiment, the carrier film is unwound, then passed tothe extrusion coating die 16 where the clear topcoat 10 is extrusioncoated onto the carrier sheet. The topcoat formulation is preferably anextrudable solventless polymeric material comprising afluorocarbon/acrylic blend such as polyvinylidene fluoride, i.e., Kynar720 (Elf Atochem), and polymethyl methacrylate, i.e., Plexiglas VS100(Atohaas). The fluorocarbon polymer content in these blends ranges fromabout 55% to about 65% and the acrylic component ranges from about 35%to about 45%. Other fluorocarbons, other acrylics, and copolymersthereof may also be used as topcoats. The preferred fluoropolymericresin is a homopolymer for providing good abrasion resistance. CertainPVDF copolymers can be used when more flexible films are desired. Thepreferred topcoat thickness ranges from about 0.5 to 2.0 mils in orderto obtain the needed gloss, DOI, and abrasion, weathering, and impactresistance in the finished product. The resulting clear coat film is nota free film or a self-supporting film; it requires use of the carriersheet 12 for support throughout the process.

[0059]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating in more detail thesuccessive steps in an extrusion coating process illustrated generallyin FIG. 1. FIGS. 3 through 5 are schematic diagrams illustratingsuccessive steps in applying the extrusion coating process to productionof an exterior automotive quality paint coat on a molded plastic carbody panel. The extrusion coated clear coat/color coat film in thisinstance is bonded to a contoured surface of a molded plastic car bodypanel to form a high gloss/high DOI protective and decorative outersurface on the finished body panel. FIGS. 2 through 5 are to beunderstood as an example of one application of the extrusion coatedfilms of this invention, inasmuch as other applications are also withinthe scope of the invention as it applies to protective and decorativesurfacing films for substrate panels.

[0060] Referring to FIG. 2, the carrier 12 is first coated with anoptional release coat which provides a means of controlling the glossand DOI levels of the extruded clear coat. The supply roll 18 of thecarrier film 12 is shown with the carrier sheet passing around a seriesof rolls prior to applying a release coat material 23 to the surface ofthe carrier by a conventional gravure cylinder 24. The release coatedcarrier then passes through an oven 26 for drying and crosslinking therelease coat material. Application of the release coat is preferablycontrolled so that it produces a high gloss surface in its dry filmform.

[0061]FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a two-step process which can beperformed in tandem or as two individual operations: (1) gravureprinting a polyester carrier film with a silicone release coat or agloss control release coat, and (2) extrusion coating a clear topcoat ona silicone release coated or gloss control coated carrier from the firstoperation. The carrier film 12 travels into the gravure print stationwhere the release coat or gloss control release coat is gravure coatedonto carrier film. The carrier film coated with the silicone releasecoat or gloss control release coat is passed through a 20-ft. longdrying oven 26 with impinging air for 325-350° F., sufficient for dryingand crosslinking the silicone release coat or the gloss control releasecoat on the carrier film. In the first stage of the drying oven, thesilicone release coat or the gloss control release coat is sufficientlycrosslinked to permanently bond it to the carrier sheet. The siliconerelease coat dried deposition weight is from 0.5-1.0 gm/m² and the glosscontrol release coat dried deposition weight is from 3-5 gm/m². (As analternative, the silicone coated PET can be purchased directly from themanufacturer, such as American Hoechst 1545.)

[0062] The release coated carrier 27 then exits the drying oven 26 andpasses to the extrusion coating operation where the extruder die 16extrusion coats the clear coat film 10 onto the release-coated surfaceof the carrier sheet. Immediately following the extrusion coating stepthe clear-coated film passes around the chill roll 17 where the extrudedfilm undergoes controlled cooling. One or more water cooled chill rollscan be used for contacting the carrier sheet to produce controlledtemperature reduction. The process by which the carrier is cooled alsocontrols the exterior gloss and DOI of the finished product. Theextrusion top coated and release coated carrier film 28 is then wound asthe take-up roll 20.

[0063] The chill roll has sufficient capacity to rapidly cool and hardenthe clear coat layer prior to its exiting the chill roll. The extrudedmaterial is rapidly cooled from an extrusion temperature of greater thanabout 385° F. to approximately room temperature of about 70° F. to 80°F. (more preferably 72° F. to 75° F.) while in contact with the chillroll. The extruded clear coat is maintained in pressure contact with thechill roll from nip pressure applied by the pressure roll 15 duringcooling. Cooling is done rapidly under conditions that avoid hazing ofthe PVDF/acrylic material and to ensure proper release from the chillroll. If cooling rate is too slow (or if the extruded coating is notsufficiently cool when exiting the chill roll), phase separation andresultant hazing can occur. Also, if the temperature is not reducedsufficiently, a release problem can be caused by the acrylic resincomponent being too tacky when released. Operating at a slow line speedcan ensure proper cooling, but high line speeds are desirable and thecapacity of the chill roll is sufficient to easily cool the clear coat(at a coat thickness from about 1 mil to 3 mils) to a hardened conditionwhile operating at line speeds in excess of 150 to 160 feet per minute.

[0064] Generally speaking, a clear coat material having an extrusiontemperature greater than 385° F. exposed to a chill roll temperaturebelow 80° F. hardens the clear coat material within an elapsed time ofless than about 3 seconds. Under these conditions cooling issufficiently rapid that a 1 mil to 3 mils clear coat can be extruded andhardened at line speeds greater than 100 ft./min. More preferably, andin the examples to follow, clear coat layers can be extruded at athickness of about 1 mil and cooled rapidly from extrusion temperaturesof about 385° F. to 400° F. to about 70° F. to 75° F. for hardening theclear coat. Under these conditions chill roll temperature is maintainedbetween about 60° F. to 85° F. and more preferably at temperaturesbetween about 70° F. to 80° F.

[0065] As mentioned previously, cooling rapidly to approximately roomtemperature is sufficient to harden the clear coat layer and avoidhazing. Another approach that ensures avoiding phase separation andhazing of the clear coat layer is to rapidly cool the clear coat to atemperature below its glass transition temperature (T_(g)) while incontact with the chill roll. For blended clear coat materials havingmore than one T_(g), cooling is done to below its lowest significantT_(g). For clear coat layers comprising an alloy of PVDF/acrylic resins,the examples to follow show that cooling to below about 60° F. to 70° F.will be necessary to cool the material to below its glass transitiontemperature.

[0066] By following the previously described procedures, highlytransparent clear coat layers can produce good release from the chillroll while operating at line speeds in excess of 160 ft./min. Linespeeds greater than 300 ft./min. also can be achieved including linespeeds approaching 380 ft./min.

[0067] Referring again to FIG. 1, the clear coat side of the carrier 28is coated with a solvent cast color coat. The solvent cast color coatmaterial 22 is applied by a reverse roll coating station 30, althoughthe color coat film also can be applied by gravure printing or othersolvent casting or coating techniques. The paint coated film 32comprising the extruded clear coat and solvent cast color coat thenpasses to a drying oven 34. The color coat is preferably dried at oventemperatures from about 250° F. to 400° F. Preferably, drying is done inmultiple stages as is known in the art. The solvent gases are driven offby the drying process, leaving a film 36 that exits the oven comprisinga color coat in hardened form bonded to the extrusion coated clear coaton the release coated carrier sheet. The film 36 is then wound as thetake-up roll 38.

[0068] In one embodiment a polyvinylidene fluoride/acrylic pigmentedcolor coat is roll coated onto the extrusion top coated carrier at rollcoating station 30. One preferred ratio of polyvinylidene fluoridecopolymer to acrylic polymer is 75/25 by weight based on the total PVDFcopolymer/acrylic polymer solids contained in the color coatformulation. Kynar 7201 (Elf Atochem) and Elvacite 2008 (I.C.I.) arepreferably used in this application. The drying oven 34 has three dryingzones set at 160°, 240° and 360° F. The color coat is dried and fusedbefore leaving the drying oven.

[0069] The color coat side of the paint coat on the carrier may next becoated with a size coat such as a thermoplastic adhesive. A chlorinatedpolyolefin (CPO) adhesive is used as the tie coat for bonding to asubstrate made of thermoplastic polyolefin. A CPO size coat formulationpreferably includes Hypalon 827B from DuPont or 13LP from Hardlyn mixedwith a solvent such as toluene in a ratio of about 25%/75%, by weight.

[0070] Referring to FIG. 3, the paint coated carrier 36 is. nextlaminated to a thermoformable polymeric backing sheet by dry painttransfer-laminating techniques. The laminating step includes separatingthe carrier sheet from the clear coat layer and simultaneously bondingthe clear coat and color coat to a semi-rigid backing sheet 40. Thebacking sheet 40 is initially wound as a supply roll 41 and is unwoundand fed to a transfer-laminating station 42. The thickness of thebacking sheet is preferably in a range from about 10 to about 40 milswith 20 mils being a preferred thickness of the backing sheet. Thebacking sheet can be made from various polymeric materials such asthermoplastic polyolefin, polyester, ABS, nylon, PVC, polycarbonate,polyarylate, or polyolefin such as polypropylene or polyethylene. Thepaint coated carrier and backing sheet pass between a heated laminatingdrum 44 and a pressure roll 46 for pressing the overlapping sheets intocontact and for heating them at a temperature sufficient to activate theadhesive size coat, which may be coated on the dried color coat.Alternatively, the size coat may be coextruded with a backing sheet orlaminated to the backing sheet prior to lamination of the clear coat andcolor coat to the backing sheet. Thus, the process of FIG. 3 transfersthe paint coat (clear coat/color coat) to the surface of the semi-rigidthermoformable polymeric backing sheet.

[0071] Following the transfer-laminating step, the carrier sheet 27 isseparated from the resulting laminate and wound on a re- wind roll 48,and the resulting laminate 49 (which comprises the thermoformablebacking sheet with the adhered color coat and clear coat) is wound as atake-up roll 50. The exposed clear coat side of the resulting laminate49 may be measured for DOI and gloss. The smooth surface of the releasecoated carrier sheet 27 is replicated on the smooth surface of thelaminate, which transfers a high gloss and a high DOI appearance to theclear coat side of the laminate. A high DOI greater than 60 and a 20°gloss greater than 75 are achieved with this invention. The techniquesfor measuring these paint film properties are described below.

[0072]FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative process of transferring theclear coat/color coat paint film to a thermoformable backing sheet. Inthis embodiment the backing sheet 52 is continuously extruded from anextruder die 54 while the paint film 36 supported by the carrier isunwound from the roll 38 and continuously extrusion laminated to thebacking sheet as the backing sheet is being formed by the sheetextruder. The backing sheet may be made from any extrudable polymericmaterial selected from the group of backing sheet materials describedpreviously. The resulting laminate (comprising the carrier-supportedclear coat/color coat films laminated to the extruded sheet 52) passesto a calendar/chill roll stack 55 for hardening the backing sheet andbonding the clear coat/color coat film to it. The finished paint filmlaminate 56 is wound as a take-up roll 57 after the release coatedcarrier sheet 27 is removed.

[0073] Referring to FIG. 5, the paint coated backing sheet 49 (from theFIG. 3 process) or 56 (from the FIG. 4 process) then passes to athermoforming step where the sheet is thermoformed into a desiredcontoured three-dimensional shape. The thermoforming operation generallyincludes placing the paint coated backing sheet in a vacuum formingmachine 58, and heating it to a temperature in the range of about 270°F. to 540° F. The paint-coated side of the backing sheet is exposedduring the thermoforming operation. After the laminate is heated to thedesired temperature, the laminate is vacuum formed into the desiredthree-dimensional shape by drawing a vacuum on a vacuum forming buck toforce the softened plastic into the shape of the working surface of thebuck. Pressure also may be used to force the sheet around the tool. Thebuck stays in place long enough to cool the plastic to a solid state,after which the laminate is removed from its surface to form theresulting three-dimensionally contoured shape of the paint coatedlaminate 59. In one embodiment, the paint coat can elongate from about40 percent to about 150 percent greater than its unextended state duringthe thermoforming step without deglossing, cracking, stress whitening,or otherwise disrupting the necessary levels of exterior automotivedurability and appearance properties of gloss and distinctness-of-image.In one embodiment the measured DOI of the thermoformed sheet followingsuch elongation is in excess of 60 (as measured on the HunterLab DorigonD-74R-6 instrument). 20° gloss measures at least 60 and 60° glossmeasures at least 75 under such elongation. In some instances involvingthermoforming with little or no shaping (and therefore little or noelongation), finished products are made with higher levels of gloss andDOI.

[0074] Following the thermoforming step and die cutting step, theresulting paint coated thermoformed shell 59 is then placed in aninjection mold 60 having a contoured mold face that matches thecontoured outer surface of the clear coat side of the thermoformed shell59. A polymeric injection molding material is injected into the mold andforced against the backing sheet side of the thermoformed sheet to bondthe substrate material to the thermoform. The resulting panel 61 is thenremoved from the mold to provide a rigid substrate panel with acontoured decorative outer surface comprising the thermoformed backingsheet and its adhered clear coat, color coat, size coat and tie coat, ifrequired. The preferred polymers used for the substrate plastic moldingmaterial of the finished panel are polymers compatible with the materialfrom which the backing sheet is made. These may include thermoplasticolefins, ABS, nylon, polyester, polyolefins such as polypropylene andpolyethylene, polycarbonates, and polyvinylchloride.

[0075] The transfer-lamination, thermoforming, and injection moldingsteps of the insert-mold process can be carried out by variousprocessing steps known to those skilled in the art and are described,for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,697 to Spain et al. and U.S. Pat.No. 4,902,557 to Rohrbacher which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0076]FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the finished bodypanel which includes a contoured outer surface formed by a clear coat 62that has been extrusion coated and bonded to an underlying color coat63, a size coat 64 which bonds the color coat side of the clearcoat/color coat composite to a thermoformable backing sheet 66, and anunderlying rigid molded polymeric substrate panel 68. The contoureddecorative outer surface of the clear coat/color coat paint filmprovides a high gloss, high DOI outer surface in which the color coat isvisible through the transparent outer clear coat.

[0077] Many of the constructions described above with backing sheetsless than 20 mils in thickness can be placed directly into an injectionmold without the intervening thermoforming step. The plastic moldingmaterial is then injected into the mold and shapes the laminate to thecontoured surface of the mold cavity, while the plastic molding materialforms the substrate panel of the finished decorated part. Many clearcoat, color coat, and size coat foils may be made by this in-moldprocess to form the finished part, or this construction may be firstlaminated to a 3-15 mil thick flexible backing sheet, such as vinyl,ABS, nylon, polyolefin or urethane, the carrier removed, and thelaminate then formed in the injection molding machine to produce afinished part. These in-mold techniques have been used previously in theindustry for interior automotive films.

[0078] The invention also can be used to produce constructions with amodified insert-mold process in which the preformed backing An sheetlaminate with the clear coat/color coat/size coat combination isinitially placed in a mold and the laminate is pre-shaped in the mold toa finished three-dimensional contour, prior to injection molding andbonding the substrate molding material to the shaped laminate.

[0079] There are alternative extrusion coating techniques (not shown)for applying the clear coat, color coat and size coat layers to thecarrier sheet. For instance, the clear coat and color coat can beextruded in series through separate extruder dies; or the clear coat andcolor coat can be coextruded through a single die onto the travelingcarrier sheet; or the clear coat, color coat and size coat can becoextruded as a multi-layer film onto the carrier, followed bylaminating each film to the backing sheet. In a further alternativeembodiment a gloss control coating can be applied to the carrier by asolvent casting process followed by an extrusion coated clear coat whichis then printed with solvent-based gravure patterns and then coated witha color coat and size coat, both of which optionally may be coextruded.Such gloss control can be used for making low gloss or semi-glossfinishes on various products including interior automotive parts. Theseextrusion processes are described in more detail in application Ser. No.08/793,836, which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0080] Referring to FIG. 7, the clear coat, color coat or size coatmaterials referred to previously can be initially made in pelletizedform. A dried blended formulation is fed to an extrusion hopper 70 andis then extruded through a twin screw compounding extruder 72 to formmultiple extruded strands 74 which pass to a cooling bath 76. Thishardens the extrusion which then passes to a chopper 78 that producesthe finished pellets at 80.

[0081]FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a process in which an exteriorautomotive laminate is produced in-line using thick sheet extrusion andextrusion coating processes. A thick sheet coextrusion line has twoextruders. A first extruder 170 is fed with an extrudable material ofdried pellets or dried flowable powders comprising ABS, polyolefins,polycarbonate or other extrudable thermoplastic materials suitable as aflexible laminate backing sheet. A second extruder 172 is fed with anextrudable material of dried pellets or dried flowable powders such asacrylics, CPO, urethanes and other material for use as a size coat forexterior laminate foils. A melt stream from the two extruders is fed toa feed block 174. The partitioned melt 175 is then extruded through adie 176 to a calendar stack consisting of three temperature controlledrolls 178, 180 and 182. The coextruded sheet 175 is fed horizontallyinto a set opening between the top roll 178 and middle roll 180 of thethree roll calendar stack. The top roll is used to meter and the middleroll is set at line speed to support the substrate while it starts tosolidify. The bottom roll 182 is used to smooth the exposed surface ofthe size coat and to finish cooling the substrate for proper handling.The cooled primed sheet 184 passes over idler rolls to an extrusioncoating station having two extruders where a color coat and a cleartopcoat are coextruded onto the primed sheet. The color coat material isfed from a hopper 186 to a first extruder 187 and the clear coatmaterial is fed from a hopper 188 to a second extruder 189. The firstextruder 187 uses compounded pigmented PVDF copolymer/acrylic color coatas its feedstock. The second extruder 189 uses PVDF/acrylic cleartopcoat as its feedstock. The melt stream from two extruders is fed to afeed block 190 which determines the relative thickness of each componentin the final coextruded film. The partitioned melt flows from the feedblock to an extrusion die 192. The partitioned melt is fed into theextrusion coater nip comprising a high durometer backup roll 194 and achill roll 196. The primed backing sheet enters the extrusion coatingnip and a high gloss polyester carrier film 198 is fed over the chillroll 196 from a supply roll 200. This polyester film is used to enhancethe gloss of the final product, since the topcoat of the coextruded filmreplicates the smooth surface of the polyester web. The compositestructure (backing sheet, size coat/color coat/clear coat/carrier film)passes through the nip and is wrapped around the chill roll. Thelaminate 202 then travels over idler rolls to a take-up roll 204.

[0082] As an alternative to the process of FIG. 8, the primed backingsheet 184 can be laminated to a paint film similar to that produced bythe process of FIGS. 1 to 3, in which the outer clear coat is formed byextrusion coating on a high gloss carrier, and the color coat is solventcast on the clear coat and dried to form the paint film laminate. Theresulting paint film laminate is then laminated to the size coat side ofthe primed backing sheet.

[0083]FIG. 9 schematically illustrates an embodiment similar to FIG. 8in which an exterior laminate with a thermoformable protective sheet isproduced in-line using a flat sheet extrusion line and two extrusioncoating stations. A flat sheet extrusion line as described in FIG. 8coextrudes a primed backing sheet 206. This primed backing sheet passesover idler rolls into a nip of extrusion coating station 208 where acolor coat and a clear topcoat are coextruded onto the primed surface ofthe backing sheet. The clear coat/color coat are passed around a chillroll to produce an exterior laminate 210. The resulting laminate passesover idler rolls into the nip of a second extrusion coating station 212where a thermoformable protective coat is extruded onto the top coatedsurface of the laminate. Thermoformable materials such asethylene-acrylic acid, polypropylene nylon, surlyn, vinyl urethane ornylon modified urethane can be extrusion coated as the protective coat.The exterior laminate with a thermoformable protective coat can bethermoformed, die cut, and injection clad to produce a finished partwith a temporary protective coat which protects these parts in shipping,assembly and painting. The protective coat is stripped off after theseoperations to yield a finished part. The protective coat also can beused as a paint mask.

[0084] The process of FIG. 9 alternatively can be carried out by solventcasting the color coat on the extruded clear coat, in a manner similarto the steps of FIGS. 1 to 3, instead of coextruding the color coat andclear coat.

[0085]FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate an in-mold process which is analternative to the insert-mold process described previously. Accordingto one embodiment of the in-mold process, a finished exterior automotivepart can be produced using exterior in-mold foils or in-mold laminatesas produced by conventional solvent casting and by extrusion coatingprocesses or a combination thereof. For shallow draw parts(0.125″-0.25″) with gentle draw and radius corners, an in-mold foil canbe used to form an exterior decorated automotive part. This in-mold foil214 as illustrated in FIG. 10 is placed in a mold cavity 216 of aninjection molding machine with a PET carrier film 218 facing the cavityside of the mold. The mold is closed, sandwiching the foil between sidesof the molding cavity. Molten plastic 220 is injected into the moldcavity against the size coated face 222 of the foil, forcing the in-moldfoil to conform to the shape of the cavity. The size coat bonds the foilto the injection molding plastic which forms a substrate panel 223. Themolded part 224 is shown in FIG. 11. The mold is then opened and thecarrier sheet and any fringe resulting from the in-mold process areremoved to yield a decorated exterior body part 226.

[0086] For deeper draw in-mold parts, an in-mold laminate may be used inthe process illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11 to produce a decorativeexterior body part. Such an in-mold laminate can be produced by firstlaminating an in-mold foil to a flexible backing sheet, such as aflexible vinyl, urethane, ABS, polyolefin or nylon sheet describedpreviously. This in-mold laminate is placed in the mold cavity of aninjection molding machine, and after the mold is closed, preheating thelaminate, or blowing or vacuum forming the laminate into the mold cavityprior to injection cladding can improve the appearance of the finishedpart. Molten plastic is injected against the backing sheet, forcing thein-mold laminate to conform to the shape of the mold cavity.

[0087]FIG. 12 shows a further embodiment of the invention comprising athree-layer coextrusion which includes a clear coat, a color coat and asize coat extruded at 230. The clear coat, color coat and size coat, inthat order, are joined together in a die block 232 with a backing sheetfrom an extruder 234. The backing sheet provides a support for the threelayer coextruded films. The polymeric material that comprises thesupport layer of the coextrusion can be any extrudable material such asABS, thermoplastic polyolefin, polycarbonate, polypropylene or PETG. Theresulting four-layer coextrusion 236 is then extrusion coated onto thesurface of a PET carrier sheet 238 that travels past the extruder dieopening. The carrier 238 can comprise various polymeric materials suchas PET or PETG. In one process, a clear coat, color coat, and size coatare extrusion coated from a single extrusion coating station using threeseparate extruders as illustrated in FIG. 12. One extruder contains aPVDF/acrylic clear topcoat as described previously. The second extruderis fed pigmented PVDF copolymer/acrylic color coat as describedpreviously. The third extruder is fed an acrylic size coat material suchas Plexiglas VS100 (Atohaas) or CPO. The melt streams from these threeextruders are fed to the feed block 232 which controls the relativethickness of each component in the final coextruded film. A 45/45/10ratio of clear coat/color coat/size coat is preferred. Backing sheetthickness is about 20 times the clear coat and color coat. Thepartitioned melt 236 flows from the block to the extruder die. Thepartitioned melt is then extruded onto the polyester carrier sheet. Thecarrier sheet can be extruded simultaneously with coating of theextruded films onto the carrier, as in FIG. 12, or the three-layerextruded film can be coated onto a carrier sheet being unwound from asupply roll. This coated foil then travels over a chill roll and idlerrolls to a take-up roll 240. Alternatively, this foil can be laminatedto unprimed ABS instead of primed ABS to yield a laminate which can bethermoformed, die cut, and injection clad to yield a finished automotivepart.

[0088] Another embodiment of this invention is an extruded color coatthat can be used without a clear coat. The extruded color coat whichcomprises the exterior weatherable layer of the finished product can bemade from various thermoplastic and thermoformable polymers such asacrylics, urethanes, vinyls, fluoropolymers, and blends thereof. Apresently preferred extrudable polymeric color coat material comprises ablend of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and acrylic resins. Thepreferred acrylic resin is a polymethyl methacrylate polymer (PMMA),although a polyethyl methacrylate polymer (PEMA) also can be used. In apreferred formulation the polyvinylidene difluoride Kynar 720 (ElfAtochem) comprises 55 percent of the formulation. VS100 acrylic polymer(Atohaas) comprises 23 percent, Tinuvin 234 UV Absorber (Ciba-Geigy)comprises 2 percent, and titanium dioxide and mixed metal oxide pigmentscomprise 20 percent.

[0089] A concentrate of UV absorber and acrylic resin can be compoundedand added to the PVDF/acrylic pellets at the extruder when extrusioncoating. Such concentrates also can include pigments and other additivescombined with the pellets in the extruder. For instance, the mixed metalpigments and titanium dioxide pigment are typically predispersed in theacrylic resin (VS100) in pellet form. The individual pigment pellets canbe combined with the Kynar 720 resin, VS100 acrylic resin and Tinuvin234, dry blended, and then compounded in a twin screw extruder. Pressouts of the colored pellets can be used to check color.

[0090] Other embodiments illustrating various combinations of extrusioncoating and coextrusion of multiple layers in the laminates of thisinvention are described in application Ser. No. 08/793,836. Theseinclude extrusion coating a clear coat and a color coat onto a commoncarrier sheet in series; or coextruding them onto a common carriersheet; or extrusion coating the clear coat layer followed by coextrudinga color coat and size coat.

EXAMPLE 1

[0091] The following formulation of an extrudable clear coat polymericmaterial was pelletized, and the pellets were fed to an extruder forextrusion coating the resulting clear coat onto the surface of a carriersheet traveling past the extruder die slot. INGREDIENTS PARTS* 1 Kynar720 65.0 Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) Atochem North America, Inc. 2Elvacite 2042 35.0 Polyethyl methacrylate (PEMA) E. I. DuPont (sold toICI) 3 Tinuvin 234 2.0 UV stabilizer HydroxyphenylbenzotriazoleCiba-Geigy

[0092] Kynar 720 is the extrusion grade PVDF homopolymer correspondingto Kynar 301F that is commonly used in a solvent cast PVDF/acrylicformulation. Kynar 720 has a melting temperature of about 167° C., a Tgof about −38 to -41° C., and a melt viscosity at 215° C. (measured inPas·sec at shear rates of 100,500 and 1,000 sec⁻¹) of 1,153, 470 and312, respectively. (Melt viscosity in the examples herein is measured atan extrusion device temperature of 215° C. (355° F.) when operated atshear rates of 100, 500 and 1,000 sec⁻¹.) Elvacite 2042 is a polyethylmethacrylate (PEMA) which is compatible with PVDF and is the sameacrylic used in the standard solvent cast Avloy® clear coat; thisformulation was selected to simulate the formulation of the standardAvloy® clear coat. (Avloy is a trademark of Avery Dennison Corporation,the assignee of this application.)

[0093] This formulation was compounded twice through a 3.25″ DavisStandard single screw extruder to obtain uniform blended pellets;however a twin screw is used for pelletizing in later examples forbetter distributive mixing. The two resins were dried at 130° F. forfour hours before being extruded into pellets, and during the extrusionprocess a vacuum vent in the compression zone of the screw was used tofurther remove moisture and other volatile components. The feed into theextruder was starved, and the heating elements or zones of the extruderwere set at (1) 420° F., (2) 430° F., (3) 430° F., (4) 430° F., (5) 430°F., (6) 430° F. adapter, (7) 430° F. die, but the observed values were(1) 416° F., (2) 418° F., (3) 427° F., (4) 423° F., (5) 428° F., (6)424° F. adapter, (7) 429° F. die. The screw was maintained at 70 rpmusing 34 amps and a screen pack consisting of two 20-mesh screens inseries was used to clean up the melt stream. This material waspelletized with a 9-10 ft. water bath for a nine-second immersion tocool the extrudate prior to pelletization. Press outs were used to judgethe homogeneity of the pellets.

[0094] This material was extrusion coated onto a two mil high glosspolyester film from American Hoechst designated Grade 2000. (Theextruded material had a melt viscosity (Pas·sec) at 100, 500 and 1,000sec⁻¹ of about 752-769, 303-308, and 200, respectively.) The polyestercarrier provides a smooth glossy surface upon which the hot extrudatecan form a thin clear film ranging from about 0.1 mil to about 2-3 milsthick. The thickness of the resulting films can be adjusted by theextrusion coating line speed and the screw speed of the extruder. Fasterline speeds result in a thinner film, and faster screw speeds result inthicker films. The polyester carrier also acts as a support sheet forthe thin clear film in subsequent operations such as coating andlaminations. In this example a 2.5-inch extruder was used to extrusioncoat a one mil thick PVDF/acrylic clear topcoat onto the polyestercarrier. The compounded pellets were dried in a desiccant dryer at 130°F. for two hours prior to being fed into the extruder. The extruder hadfive heating zones which were set at (1) 390° F., (2) 400° F., (3) 410°F., (4) 420° F., (5) 420° F. The screw speed was held at 60 rpm. Thematte chill roll was maintained at 75° F. for the entire run. (In theexamples herein, the chill roll for rapidly cooling and hardening theextruded coating has a diameter of 24 inches.) A nip pressure of 20 pliand no corona treatment were used to enhance the bond between the filmand the polyester carrier. At these settings a nominal one mil thickclear film was produced with a corresponding weight of 38 gm/m². Thisextrusion coating produced a roll composed of two mil gloss PET with aone mil clear topcoat. The extruded topcoat, however, bound to the PETcarrier and would not release from the carrier.

[0095] Using the same extrusion coating conditions as above two morerolls were produced using Hostaphan 1545 silicone coated polyester asthe carrier. While extruding the clear coat formulation onto thesiliconized PET carrier, the extruded clear film wrapped around thechill roll due to a weak bond between the extruded film and thesiliconized polyester. This problem was resolved by exchanging the glosschill roll for a matte chill roll, which has a more facile release ofthe extruded film. The reverse side of the clear coat was embossed bythe matte finish from the matte chill roll. When this roll was coatedwith a standard solvent based Avloy® white color coat, this coated filmwas dried and was then laminated (rubber roll at 400° F., 10 ft/min)onto a primed 19 mil thick gray ABS sheet. When the carrier was removed,the laminated sample showed no texture from the matte chill roll. Whenthis sample was thermoformed (19 seconds, 330° F. surface temperature),texture from the matte roll surface was evident. The release of theextruded film from the siliconized PET was weak, having a peel strengthof 10 gm/in. Similar results were obtained when this clear coatformulation was extrusion coated onto siliconized release paper, but theextruded film replicated the texture of the paper stock.

[0096] A roll using the same conditions described above withpolypropylene film as a carrier was extrusion-coated under the sameconditions. The polypropylene carrier distorts when the hot extrudatetouches its surface, causing wrinkles in the finished film; however, theextruded clear coat releases easily from the polypropylene carrier. In alater trial when polypropylene coated paper was used as the carrier, thehot extrudate did not distort or wrinkle the polypropylene coated paperdue to the support afforded by the paper stock. The clear topcoatreleased easily from this carrier but it revealed texture transferredfrom the paper stock.

EXAMPLE 2

[0097] A comparative evaluation was made between the formulationdescribed in Example 1 and the following formulation: INGREDIENTS PARTS1 Kynar 720 70.0 Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) Elf Atochem NorthAmerica 2 VS100 30.0 Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) Atohaas 3 Cyasorb P2098 2.0 UV stabilizer (pph) 2 hydroxy-4-acrylooxyethoxybenzophenoneCytec

[0098] The VS100 is a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), known asPlexiglas, which is compatible with PVDF and has a temperature/viscosityprofile closely matching the Kynar 720. This formulation was selectedfor superior extrusion melt strength. The VS100 has a Tg of about 98-99°C., and a melt viscosity (measured in Pas·sec) at 100, 500 and 1,000sec−1 of 940, 421 and 270, respectively. The formulation of Example 1wrapped around the gloss chill roll during the extrusion coatingprocess. To prevent this failure a new formulation was developed whichwould not bind to the siliconized PET and would release easily from agloss chill roll. The tackiness of this formulation was reduced byincreasing the Kynar 720 level and by increasing Tg of the acryliccomponent; the Tg of Elvacite acrylic 2042 and VS100 acrylic is 65° C.and 100° C., respectively. The Kynar/acrylic ratio was changed from65/35 to 70/30. This formulation easily released from a siliconizedpolyester web and a high gloss chill roll, and during a later trial itreleased from a standard polyester web.

[0099] This formulation was compounded using a twin screw extrudermanufactured by Werner Pfleiderer, model 53MM, to obtain uniform blendedpellets. The twin screws were co-rotating and its configuration wasdesignated Avery Dennison “A.” The two resins were dried in a dryer at160° F. for four hours before being extruded into pellets, and duringthe extrusion process a vacuum vent in the compression zone of the screwwas used to further remove moisture and other volatile components. Thefeed into the extruder was starved, and the heating elements or zones ofthe extruder were set at: (1) 100° F., (2) 360° F., (3) 360° F., (4)360° F., (5) 360° F., (6) 360° F., (7) 360° F., but the observed valueswere (1) 108° F., (2) 360° F., (3) 374° F., (4) 366° F., (5) 360° F.,(6) 355° F., (7) 358° F. The screw was maintained at 66 rpm. The melttemperature of this formulation was maintained at 215° C. (355° F.) anda screen pack consisting of three different wire meshes: 20, 40, 60, wasused to clean the melt stream. This material was pelletized.

[0100] The pellets were extrusion coated on a 1.42 mil high glosssilicone coated PET designated Hostaphan 1545. (The extruded materialhad a melt viscosity (Pas·sec) at 100, 500 and 1,000 sec⁻¹ of about803-829, 373-376 and 248-250, respectively.) The polyester carrierprovides a smooth glossy surface upon which the hot extrudate can form athin clear film ranging from about 0.1 mil to about 2-3 mils thick. Thethickness of the resulting clear films are adjustable by the extrusioncoating line speed and the screw speed of the extruder, as describedpreviously. In this example a 6.0 inch extruder with a single flightscrew was used to extrusion coat a one mil thick PVDF/acrylic cleartopcoat onto the polyester carrier. The compounded pellets were dried at130° F. for two hours prior to being fed into the extruder. The extruderhad eleven heating zones set at: (1) 380° F., (2) 370° F., (3) 340° F.,(4) 340° F., (5) 340° F., (6) 340° F., (7) flange 340° F., (8) adapter 1(340° F.), (8) adapter 2 (340° F.), (9) pipe 350° F., (10) end cap 100°F., and (11) die 350-365° F.; the die was a T-slot and had five zones:(1) 365°, (2) 3600, (3) 350, (4) 360°, and (5) 3650. The die temperatureprofile was used to maintain uniform melt flow across the die. The screwspeed was held at 15 rpm and line speed was 170 ft/min. The high glosschill roll was maintained at 60° F. for the entire run. A harderdurometer and smaller diameter nip roll produced the highest nippressure and the highest gloss finished film. A 200 mesh welded screenpack was used to clean the melt stream. At these settings a clear onemil thick film was produced with a corresponding weight of 38 gm/m². Thefinished film was a high gloss film. No corona treatment was used.

[0101] Two rolls were produced in the above extrusion coating run; afirst roll had a coating thickness of one mil, and a second roll had athickness of 0.6-0.7 mil. The material was subsequently coated with asolvent based color coat as in FIG. 1 using a white lacquer comprising53.6 parts clear vehicle, 12.5 parts cyclohexanone solvent, 33.4 partsexterior white pigment and trace amounts of iron yellow, carbon blackand iron red pigments. The oven zones were set at 160°, 240°, and 350°F. The line speed was held at 25 ft/min. The applicator roll was held at35 ft/min, and the metering roll was held at 7 ft/min. Under theseconditions 45 gm/m² of dried color coat were deposited onto the one milPVDF/acrylic topcoat.

[0102] The finished laminate had the following construction: 1.42 milgloss PET, a nominal one mil clear PVDF/acrylic topcoat, and a 1.0 milcolor coat. This construction was laminated to a primed 20 mil gray ABSbacking sheet as shown in FIG. 3.

[0103] A size coated ABS sheet can be made by coating the size coatformulation (described below) on a polyester carrier as shown in FIG. 2and then transfer laminating the material to an ABS sheet as shown inFIG. 3. For test purposes, Hoechst Celanese 2000, a two mil gloss PETfilm, was coated by a reverse roll coater with 6-7 gm/m² acrylic sizecoat. This material is laminated as shown in FIG. 3 to an extruded sheetof General Electric Cycolac LS, a 19 mil thick gray ABS sheet. Duringlamination, the acrylic size coat is transferred to the ABS backingsheet. The size coat formulation is: SIZE COAT FORMULATION INGREDIENTSPARTS 1 Xylene 61.0 2 Acrylic resin 29.0 3 MEK 10.0

[0104] The acrylic resin was Elvacite 2009 from ICI Acrylics, Inc.,Wilmington, Del. The finished laminate was thermoformed and injectionmolded as illustrated in FIG. 5. Some phase separation was noted afterthermoforming, resulting in drop of gloss and DOI for the clearcoat/color coat. The foil can be used as an in-mold foil, without vacuumforming, for shallow draw parts.

EXAMPLE 3

[0105] The following formulation did not exhibit the phase separationproblem noted in Example 2. An extrudable clear coat polymeric materialwas pelletized, and the pellets were fed to an extruder for extrusioncoating the resulting clear coat onto the surface of a carrier sheettraveling past the extruder die slot. INGREDIENTS PARTS 1 Kynar 720 60.0Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) Elf Atochem North America 2 VS100 40.0Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) Atohaas 3 Tinuvin 234 2.0 UV stabilizer(pph) Hydroxyphenylbenzotriazole Ciba-Geigy

[0106] This formulation was selected for superior extrusion meltstrength and to reduce phase separation of the Kynar 720 resin. Theformulation was compounded using a twin screw extruder (WernerPfleiderer, model 53MM) to obtain uniformly blended pellets. Extrusionwas similar to that described in Example 2, except that the two resinswere dried in a dryer at −40° dew pt. and 130° F. for four hours beforebeing extruded into pellets. The screw was maintained at 63 rpm using600-660 H.P. and a corresponding current of 54-58 amps. The melttemperature of this formulation was maintained at 215° C. (356° F.) andscreen pack consisting of three different wire mesh: 20, 40, 60, wasused to clean up the melt stream.

[0107] This material was pelletized and extrusion coated onto a two milhigh gloss polyester film, American Hoechst 2000, to form a thin clearfilm ranging from about 0.1 mil to about 2-3 mils thick. (The extrudedmaterial had a melt viscosity (Pas·sec) at 100, 500 and 1,000 sec⁻¹ ofabout 752, 366 and 242, respectively; a melting temperature of about162° C., and a Tg of about 32.6° C.) The polyester carrier was used as asupport for the thin clear film in subsequent operations such as coatingand laminations. In this example a 2.5 inch extruder was used toextrusion coat a one mil PVDF/acrylic clear topcoat onto a two mil glosspolyester carrier. The compounded pellets were dried at 130° F. for twohours prior to being fed into the extruder. The extruder had fiveheating zones which were set at (1) 390° F., (2) 400° F., (3) 410° F.,(4) 420° F., (5) 420° F., and the screw speed was held at 60 rpm with acorresponding line setting of 3.47 ft/min. The high gloss chill roll wasmaintained at 60° F. for the entire run. At these settings a clear onemil thick film was produced with a corresponding weight of 38 gm/m². Nocorona treatment was used. However, when a corona treatment was used onthe polyester web prior to reaching the extrusion coating nip, half moondefects were noted in the one mil thick clear film. The electricalcharge left on the polyester web from the corona treatment did notdissipate before reaching the extrusion coating nip, distorting theclear film and resulting in half moon shaped defects.

[0108] The film was subsequently coated with a solvent based color coatas in FIG. 2. This roll was reverse roll coated using a red color coat(see formulation below). During this run, the ambient temperature was76° F., and the relative humidity was 25%. Line speed was held at 15ft/min. The first oven zone was set at 240° F. and the second oven zonewas set at 250° F. The applicator roll ratio was held at 115% of linespeed, and the metering roll was held at 20% of line speed. Under theseconditions 25 gm/m² of dried color coat were deposited onto the one milPVDF/acrylic topcoat. RED AVLOY ® COLOR COAT INGREDIENTS PARTS 1 Clearvehicle for Avloy ® color coat 74.32 2 DPP Red BO 460-36351 11.26 3Magenta D-60 dispersions 7.47 4 93 exterior white 0.07 5 D-60 violetdispersions 1.88 6 Methyl propyl ketone 2.50 7 Cyclohexanone 2.50

[0109] This construction had the following structure: two mil gloss PET,one mil clear PVDF/acrylic topcoat, and 0.6 mil color coat. Thisconstruction was laminated to a primed 20 mil gray ABS backing sheet(L1826) as shown in FIG. 3. The material was thermoformed and injectionmolded (see FIG. 5).

[0110] Measurements of these base coat/clear coat samples revealed thatthe critical areas of the finished parts had 20° gloss readings inexcess of 75 and DOI readings greater than 60 for metallic automotivepaints as well as solid colors. (DOI is measured on the HunterLabDorigon D47R-6 instrument.) The foil can also be placed in the injectionmold without thermoforming and in-mold formed for shallow draw parts asdescribed earlier. For deep draw parts the foil is first laminated to aflexible thermoplastic backing sheet, i.e. vinyl, urethane, or nylon.This flexible backing sheet aids in the distensibility of these foils.Such lamination (see FIG. 3) is performed under the laminationconditions described in Example 2. These laminates can also be injectionmolded without thermoforming by preheating the laminate and usingpressure or vacuum to cause the material to take the shape of the moldface prior to injection of the molten plastic.

EXAMPLE 4

[0111] The following formulation of an extrudable clear coat polymericmaterial was pelletized, and the pellets were fed to an extruder forextrusion coating the resulting clear coat onto a carrier sheettraveling past the extruder die slot. INGREDIENTS PARTS 1 Kynar 720 65.0Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) Elf Atochem North America 2 VS100 35.0Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) Atohaas 3 Tinuvin 234 2.0 UV stabilizerHydroxyphenylbenzotriazole Ciba-Geigy

[0112] This formulation was compounded using the twin screw extruderdescribed in Examples 2 and 3 to obtain uniformly blended pellets.Extrusion was similar to that described in Example 2, except that thetwo resins were dried at 130-150° F. for 2-3 hours before being extrudedinto pellets, and the heating elements or zones of extruder wereobserved at (1) 101° F., (2) 358° F., (3) 339° F., (4) 359° F., (5) 359°F., (6) 361° F., and (7) 357° F. The screw was maintained at 63 rpmusing 700 H.P. and a corresponding current of 68-78 amps. Melttemperature was maintained at 355° F. and a screen pack consisting ofthree different mesh screens: 20, 40, 60 was used to clean the meltstream. This material was pelletized and extrusion coated onto a two milhigh gloss American Hoechst 2000 polyester film. This polyester carrierprovides a smooth glossy surface upon which the hot extrudate formed athin clear film ranging from about 0.1 mil to about 2-3 mils thick. Inthis example a 2.5 inch extruder was used to extrusion coat a one milPVDF/acrylic clear topcoat onto a two mil gloss polyester carrier. Thecompounded pellets were dried and extruded under heat and at a speedsimilar to the conditions described in Example 3. The high gloss chillroll was maintained at 60° F. for the entire run. At these settings theclear film had a weight of 38 gm/m². No corona treatment was used. Whena higher corona treatment was used on the polyester web prior toreaching the extrusion coating nip, half moon defects were noted in theclear film, similar to Example 3. The film was subsequently coated witha solvent based black Avloy® color coat (using a Bird bar) and was thendried. The black color coat had the following formulation: INGREDIENTSPARTS 1 N-methyl pyrollidone 38.00 2 Elvacite 2042 4.06 3 Kynar 1005212.00

[0113] The resins are dissolved in the solvent under heat at 130° F. Thefollowing pigment dispersion is then added: INGREDIENTS PARTS 1 Blackdispersion -- GCW #428-A056 20.00 2 N-methyl pyrrolidone 8.3 3 Exteriorwhite 0.54 4 MEK 15.7

[0114] The resulting foil was laminated to an acrylic primed 30 milblack ABS sheet with a rubber roll held at 400° F. and a line speed of14 ft/min. The resulting laminate was draped in the thermoformer for 29seconds, and the laminate sheet reached a surface temperature of 340° F.This draped sample was compared with a similarly prepared sample (fromExample 3) to determine relative levels of hazing. The film in Example 3showed the least hazing, and the laminate prepared from the film ofExample 4 showed more hazing. Example 3 was deemed superior because thehigher acrylic content in these formulae is believed to retard phaseseparation.

EXAMPLE 5

[0115] A comparative evaluation was made between the formulation inExample 2 and the following formulation: INGREDIENTS PARTS 1 Kynar 285060.0 Polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) Elf Atochem North America 2 VS10040.0 Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) Rohm and Haas 3 Tinuvin 234 2.0 UVstabilizer (pph) Ciba-Geigy

[0116] Kynar 2850 is an extrusion grade PVDF copolymer. Kynar 2850 has amelting temperature of about 155° C., a Tg of about −35 to −40° C., anda melt viscosity (measured in Pas·sec) at 100, 500 and 1,000 sec⁻¹ of1,170-1,273, 494-508 and 326-330, respectively. The PMMA is compatiblewith the PVDF and its temperature/viscosity profile closely matchesKynar 2850. The melting point of the homopolymer Kynar 720, 165°-170°C., is higher than the melting point of the copolymer Kynar 2850,155°-160° C. Kynar 2850 has less tendency than Kynar 720 to crystallizeand thereby may produce a clearer PVDF/acrylic film when subjected toheat.

[0117] The formulation was compounded using a twin screw extruder toobtain uniform blended pellets. The two resins were dried before beingextruded into pellets. During the extrusion process a vacuum vent in thecompression zone of the screw was used to further remove moisture andother volatile components. The heating zones of the extruder were set at(1) 100° F., (2) 380° F., (3) 380° F., (4) 385° F., (5) 385° F., (6)385° F. and (7) 385° F. The screw was maintained at 70 rpm. The melttemperature of this formulation was maintained at 380° F. and a screenpack consisting of three different wire meshes (20, 40 and 60) was usedto clean the melt stream. This material was pelletized and extrusioncoated on two mil high gloss Hostaphan 2000 polyester carrier film. Thehot extrudate can form a thin clear film ranging from 0.1 mil to 2 milsthick. (The extruded material had a melt viscosity (Pas·sec) at 100, 500and 1,000 sec⁻¹ of about 888, 405 and 266, respectively; a meltingtemperature of about 147° C., and a Tg of about 23-33° C.) While fasterline speeds result in a thinner film, faster screw speeds result inthicker films. In this example a 1.75 inch lab extruder was used toextrusion coat a one mil PVDF copolymer/acrylic clear topcoat onto a twomil high gloss polyester carrier.

[0118] The compounded pellets were dried at 150° F. for two hours priorto being fed into the extruder. The extruder had ten heating zones whichwere set at (1) 330° F., (2) 380° F., (3) 380° F., (4) 405° F., (5) 415°F./clamp, (6) 420° F./tube, (7) 420° F., (8) 420° F., (9) 420° F. and(10) 406° F./die; the die was coat hanger and the melt was maintained at434° F. The screw speed was held at 166 rpm with a corresponding linespeed of 150 ft/min. The high gloss chill roll setting was maintained at70° F. for the entire run. A welded screen pack was used to clean themelt stream. At these settings the one mil clear coat had a weight of 38gm/m². The finished film was high gloss, but had some microgels and somesmall contaminants were observed. The defects were not objectionable infinished parts. No corona treatment was used.

[0119] One roll of the formulation produced in the above productionextrusion coating run was coated in the lab with a teal metallic Avloy®color coat. This material was laminated to primed ABS. The resultinglaminate was thermoformed, die cut, and injection clad to produce afinished part.

EXAMPLE 6

[0120] The purpose of this trial is to make a coextrusion sheet for abase coat/clear coat paint film.

[0121] A single layer ABS sheet, 20 to 30 mils thick can be sized foradhesion by transfer laminating either at the extruder or at a separateoperation with an acrylic layer (Elvacite 2009) that has been solventcast onto a polyester carrier. The need to solvent cast the acryliclayer to a polyester carrier film on a reverse roll coater andsubsequently transfer laminate it to ABS is eliminated, therebysimplifying the process.

[0122] This example illustrates an alternative method of producing aprimed ABS sheet which can be laminated with a base coat/clear coat foilto produce a laminate product. This primed ABS sheet is produced bycoextrusion of a composite acrylic/ABS sheet. Eliminating the solventcoating and lamination steps can increase both the laminating andcoating capacity of a plant and lower the cost and time required toproduce the laminate.

[0123] On a thick film line, two extruders were used to coextrude acomposite acrylic/ABS sheet. Extruder A was fed acrylic resin and notvented; whereas, extruder B was fed ABS resins and was vented to furtherremove water and other volatile gases. Both the acrylic resin and theABS resin require drying of excessive moisture before extruding. This isaccomplished by drying the resin for at least two hours at 150° F. forthe acrylic and 170° F. for the ABS. The resin is below 0.08% moisturecontent to prevent extrusion problems. Typically it is extruded at amoisture content between 0.02% to 0.04%.

[0124] Dried resin pellets of each material are fed into the hoppers onthe top of each extruder via vacuum tubes. From the hoppers the pelletsare gravity fed into the feed section of the extruders' barrel, screwfed through the barrel, and heated to a molten state. The two resins ineach extruder are fed through their respective barrel sections to asingle feed block and then Die Temp. 440° F. all zones Melt Temp. 408°F. Line Speed 39.8 ft/min Screw -- Ext. A LD ratio 24:1 Screw -- Ext. BLD ratio 32:1 Screen pack at breaker A = 2, 40 mesh screens plate B = 3@ 20, 40 & 60 mesh screens Polished roll temperature START END TOP 170170 MIDDLE 150 150 BOTTOM 145 180

[0125] The reason for change in the middle and bottom from start to endwas to set the sheet in calendar stack. Extruder “A” was not vented—“B”was vented for moisture and gas removal. START END Screw speed (rpm) A8.4 6.5 B 64.2 7.5 Back pressure (psi) A 3,010 2,920 B 4,240 4,390Coextruder thickness (mil) A layer 2.5 1.5 B layer 27.5 28.5

[0126] Two carrier-supported base coat/clear coat films (mid-gloss blackand emerald green) were fed into the calendaring stack and laminated tothe acrylic side of the coextrusions. The carrier was then removed. Thisprocess combines the coextrusion of the sized backing sheet withlamination of base coat/clear coat foil so the resulting laminate isready to be thermoformed prior to subsequent molding of exteriorautomotive parts.

EXAMPLE 7

[0127] The following formulation of an extrudable color coat materialwas pelletized and the pellets were fed into an extruder in an extrusioncoating station. The extruded color coat was deposited on the extrusioncoated web passing below extruder die slot. INGREDIENTS PARTS 1 Kynar720 48.0 Polyvinylidene fluoride Atochem 2 Jet Black No. 1 20.0 Copper,chromate black spinel The Shepherd Color Company 3 VS100 32.0 Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) Atohaas

[0128] This formulation was compounded using the Werner Pfleiderer Model53MM twin screw extruder to obtain a uniform blend. The two resins weredried in a desiccator hopper with a 0° F. dew point at 150° F. for eighthours before being extruded into pellets. During the extrusion processthe vacuum vent in the compression zone of the screw was used to removemoisture and volatile components. The dried resins of the color coatwere fed into the extruder. The seven heating zones of the extruder wereset: (1) 100° F., (2) 370° F., (3) 370° F., (4) 370° F., (5) 370° F.,(6) 370° F., (7) 370° F. The screw was maintained at 64 rpm using600-670 H.P. and a corresponding current of 54-59 amps. The melttemperature at the die was maintained for 367° F., and a screen packconsisting of three different wire meshes; 20, 40, 60 was used to cleanthe melt stream. The material was pelletized. Press outs were used tomonitor the uniformity of the blend.

[0129] The above formulation was extrusion coated onto an extrusionclear top coated web to form a one mil color coat on the clear topcoatwith a corresponding weight of 44 gm/m². The pellets were dried at 0° F.dew point, 150° F. for eight hours prior to extrusion coating the colorcoat. The 2.5 inch extruder was held at 60 rpm and the five heatingzones were set at: (1) 390° F., (2) 400° F., (3) 410° F., (4) 420° F.,(5) 420° F. This film was laminated to 30 mil primed black ABS(400° F.,2X, 8 ft/min); it was also laminated to primed gray ABS to check foropacity. Both laminates were thermoformed.

[0130] The previous description relates to use of the invention inproducing exterior and interior automotive body panels. The inventionalso can be used for other applications such as the manufacture ofoutdoor siding panels described in application Ser. No. 08/793,836,which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0131] That application describes extrusion coating on a matte releasecarrier, a thermoplastic extruded clear coat which can be embossed withthree dimensional impressions and a micro-roughness from the carrierwhile extruding the clear coat at a line speed in excess of 200 ft/min,and applying multiple coatings to an extruded PVDF/acrylic transparentfilm to produce a decorative-foil having a wood grain appearance.Application of woodgrain print coats and extrusion/lamination techniquesalso are described, together with formulations and extrusion/laminationtechniques for making vinyl outdoor siding panels with woodgraintransfer foils.

[0132] Application Ser. No. 08/793,836 also describes an acrylic sizecoat applied to an extruded PVC sheet for bonding the decorative foil.Alternatively, a backing sheet may be made from a thermoplastic olefinsuch as polypropylene or polyethylene, in which case the size coat ismade from a thermoplastic chlorinated polyolefin (CPO), preferably achlorinated polypropylene or chlorinated polyethylene, in which thecoating composition contains about 10% to about 60% by weight of CPO,and correspondingly, about 50% to about 90% by weight solvent.

EXAMPLE 8

[0133] The formulation of Example 4 was coextruded with other polymericmaterials as illustrated in FIG. 13. A coextrusion melt 250 comprising aclear coat and a primer coat is extrusion coated onto a 2 mil high glosspolyester sheet, such as Hostaphan 2000 from American Hoechst. Thisprocess used an extrusion coating station equipped with two extruders.One extruder is fed a clear coat material as described in Example 3. Thesecond extruder is fed a primer coat; this primer acts as a tie betweensheet PVDF/acrylic clear coat and the color coat. The melt stream fromboth extruders is fed into a feed block 252; the partitioned melt thenflows to an extrusion die 254. This melt is extrusion coated onto thepolyester sheet such that the clear coat is in contact with PET. Thepolymeric materials contained in the primer consist primarily of acrylicand/or vinyl resins. The preferred acrylic resin is polyethylmethacrylate (PEMA). Other minor amounts of solids, such as UVstabilizers, pigments, and fillers may also be present in the prime coatformulation. The primer coat is applied to the clear coat side of theweb 256, and is used to enhance the chemical bond with the color coat.

[0134] After the primer coat is applied, the coated carrier sheet 258passes to another extrusion coating operation 260 where an extrusioncoated color coat is applied from an extruder die 262 to the primer coatside of the web. This color coat can comprise various resins, includingPVDF, acrylic, PVC, and urethane, plus other additives and fillers,including pigments, heat stabilizers, and light stabilizers.

[0135] The web then passes to a laminating station 264, where a pressuresensitive transfer tape 266 is applied to the color coat side of theweb. The laminating station includes the heated drum and pressure rolldescribed previously. The transfer tape had been previously coated usingconventional reverse roll coating techniques, and is protected by arelease coated carrier sheet 268. The extrusion coated and adhesivecoated carrier film 270 is then wound as a take-up roll 272.

[0136] This construction was used in an exterior automotive applicationwhere pressure sensitive films are typically used, and maintained a highgloss and a high DOI.

EXAMPLE 9

[0137] Two trials were conducted in which substrates were coextrudedwith a size layer for laminating to exterior dry paint films.

[0138] In one trial a one mil urethane modified polyethylene adhesivelayer (MOE 2, Elf Atochem) was coextruded with a one mil modifiedpolyethylene tie layer (Admere SF-700, Mitsui), both of which werecoextruded with an 18 mil TPO backing sheet (a polypropylene Dexflex,DNS Plastics International). In another trial a one mil urethanemodified polyethylene adhesive layer (MOE 2) was coextruded with a onemil modified polyethylene tie layer (Admere SF-700), both of which werecoextruded with an 18 mil polypropylene (homopolymer) backing sheet. Thethree-layer coextrusions were successful in laminating to dry painttransfer films with good adhesion. The coextrusions were each laminatedto: (1) a one mil high gloss PVDF/acrylic clear coat/0.5 mil blackPVDF/acrylic color coat paint film having a 0.1 mil PMMA size coat; (2)a high gloss PVDF/acrylic clear coat (one mil)/color coat (0.5 mil red)paint film having a 0.1 mil PMMA size coat; and (3) a one milPVDF/acrylic monocoat mid-gloss black paint film with no size coat.

[0139] The urethane modified polyethylene adhesive layer provided goodadhesion to the PVDF/acrylic dry paint transfer films, and the modifiedpolyethylene tie coat provided good adhesion to the olefin backingsheets. The coextrusions were successful in that their melt temperatureswere reasonably close to each other, within a range of about 50° F.

[0140] Compounding of the resin can be a critical aspect of theextrusion process. A preferred formulation for the starting materialused in extruded film trials described below comprises a 60/40 blend ofPVDF and PMMA along with a UV stabilizer comprising about 2% of thetotal blend. Other formations can be used, as described below. Inaddition, the extrusion techniques described herein are generallyapplicable to clear coat films extruded at a film thickness of about 0.5to about 2 mils, and for the trials described below, coat thickness wasabout one mil.

[0141] A suitable extruded film, particularly for exterior automotiveuse, requires minimal optical defects in order to ensure reasonably highoptical clarity in the finished clear coat outer film. Optical defectsin the extruded film can be caused by dirt particles and other entrainedcontaminants from the extruder and/or by formation of gels in theextruded material. For instance, extruded coatings containing PVDFpolymers are subject to gel formation at high extrusion temperatures.Crosslinking of vinylidene fluoride polymers increases at high melttemperatures, leading to a greater number of defects caused by gelformation. One of the objectives of the invention is to maintain highline speed while producing extruded films with minimal defects. However,there is a relationship between line speed and the number of defects fora given extruder. If extruder screw rpm must increase to produce higherline speeds, more shear and heat generation in the extruded material maycause gel formation and resultant optical defects.

[0142] Variations in processing can reduce formation of defects causedby gel formation in the extruded clear film. As mentioned, gel formationfrom the PVDF component is a main contributor to defects, and oneapproach is to remove one “heat history” from the melt by a two-stepmelt extrusion process in which the PVDF is subjected to less heat. Thetwo-step process involves: heat history 1—making pellets from theacrylic material and UV stabilizer, in the absence of PVDF, followed byheat history 2—making the extruded film in which the PVDF is dry-blendedwith the pellets made in the first processing step. This avoids the one“heat history” of subjecting the PVDF to heat in producing pellets fromthe PVDF along with the acrylic and UV stabilizer. Tests have shown thatfilms with too high a level of defects were made by melt blending thePVDF, acrylic and UV stabilizer together to make pellets because of thehigh shear required to properly blend the components.

EXAMPLE 10

[0143] In one experimental test for making an extruded film, atwin-screw extruder was used. Twin-screw extruders can have an advantageover single-screw extruders because they can mix the materials at lowshear, which minimizes temperature rise during compounding. Thisextrusion trial involved pellets made by removing the one “heat history”of the PVDF from the compounded material. The UV stabilizer Tinuvin 234(Ciba Geigy) in powder form was distributed in an acrylic componentcomprising VS100 (Rohm and Haas) PMMA in pellet form. These materialswere extruded in a first pass through the extruder to form pellets whileavoiding exposing the PVDF to one extrusion pass. A high extrusiontemperature above the gel temperature of the PVDF (in order to properlyblend the acrylic and UV stabilizer) can be used in the first passbecause of the absence of the PVDF. In one trial this temperature was460° F. An extrusion-grade PVDF (Kynar 720) was added in pellet form tothe second extrusion pass in which an extruded clear film having lowgels and defects was produced when extruded at 400° F. In one trial inwhich a one mil thick clear coat film was extruded onto a PET carrier,defects were observed to drop fourfold (from a 50 to 60 gel count to a10 to 15 gel count) when compared with a trial involving initiallymaking the PVDF in pellet form and extruding all three componentstogether, followed by extruding the resultant material into a film.

EXAMPLE 11

[0144] As an alternative to a twin-screw extruder, a single-screwextruder was designed which permitted extrusion of the film at lowershear and a lower melt temperature. The extruder flights were designedto increase output and reduce melt temperatures. A low-corrosionChromalloy material was used for the screw extruder. The extrudercomprised a 2½-inch Black Clawson single-screw extruder at 30:1 L/D. Theextruder flights were reduced and the tolerance between the flights andthe inside of the extruder barrel was increased, both of which reducedthe shear and temperature build-up during extrusion. Clear films one milin thickness were produced on a PET carrier with greatly reduced gelsand defects. In one trial, extruder screw speed was 68 rpm, extrusionmelt temperature was about 400-410° F. at the extruder die opening,barrel temperature of the extruder was about 370-380° F., melt pressurewas about 2,800 psi, and the chill roll was operated at 75° F. Linespeed was 135 ft/min at a web width of 51 inches. A defect count in therange of 3-15 was produced, based on a C-charting test method describedbelow. It was observed generally that the extruded film clears up atreduced extruder rpm. Raising the chill roll temperature to 85° F. alsoappeared to improve film clarity in one trial.

EXAMPLE 12

[0145] Another approach in reducing defects in the extruded film is witha powder-to-film briquetting process. In the original process of makingPVDF, the product is in powder form which comes directly from thereactor when the PVDF is polymerized. In order to attain the objectiveof producing prills, or briquettes, with minimal heat, the prills can beproduced in a single-step process from the original powder form of PVDF,PMMA and the UV stabilizer. A dry extruder with large compaction rollsapplies pressure to the powder-form materials to produce compaction intoprills without melting.

[0146] In one test, 86.4% powder-form PVDF, 10% PMMA and 3.6% Tinuvin234 was compacted into prills. The prills were then extruded with PMMAto adjust the final blend ratio to the preferred 60/40 ratio, and theresulting extrusion formed a clear film having low defect levels. Thepowder-form materials are subjected only to pressure with minimal heatto compact them into the briquettes. In one trial, material wascompacted at 2,400 psi with a temperature rise of about 130° F. Thisprocess avoids subjecting the PVDF to shear and high temperaturenormally involved in making pellets.

EXAMPLE 13

[0147] In another approach for making extruded clear films with minimaldefects, a PVDF/acrylic extruded film was made from a large single-screwextruder. This extruder was designed to provide a short minimal distancebetween the extruder outlet and the die inlet opening so as to minimizemelt travel. A screen pack using 20/40/60/80/100 mesh screens was placedbetween the extruder outlet and the die inlet opening. In oneembodiment, the distance between the extruder outlet through the screenpack to the die inlet opening was less than about two feet. This largesix-inch-diameter single-screw extruder was operated at a low rpm whichin one trial was 24 rpm. Because of its low speed and reduced wallcontact with the extruded material over the short distance of travel,the polymer melt experienced low shear. Also, as described below, anextruder having a screw operated at a moderate compression ratioproduces a desired low level of shear. Temperature of the extrudedmaterial was also low, about 400° F., well below the 450° F. geltemperature of the PVDF component. Preferred operation of the extrudermaintains maximum internal extrudate temperatures to below about 20°-30°F. below the 450° F. gel temperature of the PVDF. The extruder produceda clear film extruded at one mil thickness, 51 inches in width, on atraveling PET carrier. The resulting extruded clear coat film wasessentially defect-free. Line speed also was approximately 160-170ft/min. The low defect level was attributed to the large-volume,low-shear operation of the extruder. A similar trial run conducted withthe 2½-inch single-screw extruder (described previously) operating atthe same line speed produced a film with greater defects because ofhigher temperature and shear. Generally speaking, because of the reducedvolume of the 2½-inch single-screw extruder, line speed would be reducedif shear and temperature are reduced to produce fewer defects.

[0148] The number of visual defects in a finished extruded film ismeasured to determine the optical quality of the film. This testprocedure, referred to as C-charting, involves determining a standarddefinition for what a defect comprises, by determining the maximum sizeof gels, fisheyes or other optical defects which can be toleratedwithout adversely affecting acceptable film clarity. A second C-chartingstandard sets the maximum number of defects acceptable for a givensurface area of the finished extruded film. The defect count can becharted by plotting the number of defects in a given area at selectedtime intervals as the extruded material is being produced. The chartingcan reveal undesired shifts, trends, cycles or patterns in the extrusionprocess.

[0149] In one test standard, the film is viewed on a flat surface with apredetermined light source and the film is visually inspected fordefects. Any non-uniformity (or non-conformity) larger in diameter than0.8 mm is considered a defect, and the number of defects per eightsquare feet of extruded film are counted, although this standard areacan vary. An acceptable film can be determined to comprise a film havingan average defect per area count below a preset value, which in one teststandard is five defects or less per eight square feet of surface area.This sample area is determined as a result of conventional filmextrusions 48 inches wide, with test samples taken at two feetintervals. (In the extrusion trials described previously in which filmwidth was 51 inches, defects were counted for 8½ square feet areas.)

EXAMPLE 14

[0150] The material used for this trial comprised Kynar 720 PVDF/VS100PMMA/Tinuvin 234 UV stabilizer in a 60:40: [2 pph] blend. The processdescribed above for making PVDF/acrylic pellets with minimal exposure toheat was used to prepare the starting material. The extruder comprisedan Egan six-inch single screw, single flight extruder. The distancebetween the extruder outlet and the extruder exit opening was less thanabout two feet, and a screen pack using 20/40/60/80/100 mesh screens wasinterposed between the extruder outlet and the die inlet opening. Anextruded clear film coating approximately one mil in thickness wasextruded at a web width of 51 inches onto a traveling PET carrier film.Initial start-up was begun utilizing the Kynar/acrylic blend. Theextrusion profile was 450° F. to facilitate screw coating at low amps.Once the polymer flow was established, the barrel temperatures werereduced and the coating process was begun on a poly-coated papersubstrate to assist in gauge setup. After gauging was sufficient, thePET substrate was begun. The extruder was operated at a low rpm toprepare a total of 13,000 feet of film. Several trials were conducted.In one set of trials, extruder rotation was 24 rpm in order to producethe greatest line speed of 157 ft/min. Other trials were conducted at 19rpm to produce a line speed of 126 ft/min and at 15 rpm to produce aline speed of 100 ft/min. Melt pressure of the extruded material variedfrom 830 psi for the 24 rpm operation to 730 psi for the 15 rpmoperation. The chill roll temperature was maintained at 75° F. in alltrials. Extruder die zone temperature varied from about 400° to 430° F.during the trials and barrel zone temperature varied from about 350° to375° F. In all trials that were conducted, essentially zero defects wereproduced in the extruded films, resulting in a film having excellentoptical clarity with the requisite quality attributes for exteriorautomotive use.

[0151] The PVDF/acrylic formulation ratio can affect film clarity. Ingeneral, the preferred PVDF-to-acrylic ratio is from about 55% to about65%, by weight PVDF and from about 35% to about 45% acrylic, by weightof the total PVDF/acrylic solid polymers contained in the formulation.In a more preferred embodiment, films with the good clarity are producedwith a PVDF-to-acrylic ratio of 57 to 62% PVDF and 38-43% acrylic resin.

[0152] Optical defects caused by gel formation can be reduced to anessentially zero-defect state by reducing the level of heat and shear towhich the extruded material is exposed both during preparation of thestarting material that goes into the extruder and during extrusion toproduce the finished film. Such gel formation is controlled to withinacceptable limits by controlling starting material preparation and filmextrusion so that heat and shear do not cause the material to be exposedto temperatures at or above the gel formation temperature of any of thepolymers contained in the processed material. By operating all suchsteps in the process so that temperatures within the processed materialstay at no more than about 20⁰-30° F. below the gel formationtemperature, an essentially zero-defect extruded clear film can beproduced. The resulting film is thermoplastic and thermoformable intohigh gloss and DOI films suitable for exterior automotive use.

[0153] As mentioned previously, the melt viscosities of the blendedpolymeric materials are matched so they are reasonably close to eachother, so that flow characteristics of the alloyed materials can beimproved when heated to the extrusion temperature. Matching the meltviscosities of the PVDF and acrylic resins is important during themixing process, as it can produce more uniform flow which can avoid thenegative effects of high shear and formation of visible defects in thehardened film. The previous melt viscosity data show that highlytransparent films are produced when melt viscosities of the alloyedmaterials are in the following ranges: Melt Viscosities (Pas.Sec) at215° C. vs. Shear Rates (sec⁻¹) 100 500 1000 PVDF 1125-1300 450-525300-350 Acrylic  900-1000 400-450 225-300 Blended PVDF/Acrylic 725-925275-425 175-300

[0154] The previous melt viscosity data also show that, generallyspeaking, melt viscosities for the blended PVDF and acrylic resincomponents are considered reasonably close to each other so as toproduce the desired mixing effects when the PVDF component has averagemelt viscosities (Pas·Sec at 215° C.) of no more than about 375, 125 and100 greater than the average melt viscosities of the acrylic resin, atshear rates of 100, 500 and 1000 sec⁻¹, respectively.

[0155] In addition to producing extruded films of such high opticalclarity, there is a need to produce the films at reasonably high linespeeds. As mentioned, increasing extruder rpm can increase line speed,but increased extruder rpm can produce more shear and heat, leading tomore gel formation. To meet the objective of producing films at linespeeds in excess of 100 ft/min, a large volume extruder operating at anextruder rotational rate of less than 50 rpm and producing an extrudedfilm with a die exit opening temperature of about 20°-30° F. below gelformation temperature can produce essentially defect-free extruded clearfilms. Melt pressure also is an important consideration and an extrudermelt pressure of below about 2,000 psi is preferable, more preferablybelow 1,000 psi, and most preferably below about 700-800 psi. For thePVDF/acrylic extruded films to produce exterior weatherable automotivepaint films of acceptable optical quality, the extruder has been shownto produce line speeds above 160 ft/min by operating a sufficientlylarge volume extruder at below about 50 rpm, and more preferably below30 rpm, while maintaining extrusion temperatures of the film extrudedfrom the die exit opening to about 300-50° F. below the gel formationtemperature of 450° F.

EXAMPLE 15

[0156] The high optical clarity PVDF/acrylic extruded clear film of thisinvention also can be used as a weatherable protective outer coating forwindows. In one process the clear film is extruded onto the PET carrieras described above. The PET carrier and clear film are thentransfer-laminated to a laminate comprised of an outer adhesive coat anda metallized layer on a polyester film. The extruded clear coat layer istransfer-laminated to the adhesive layer and the PET carrier is removedto produce a composite comprised of the clear outerfilm/adhesive/metallized layer/PET film. This composite is thenlaminated to a layer of glass with an intervening transparent adhesivelayer. The clear film provides good optical clarity and weatherabilityfor the window gloss composite.

[0157] In addition to the defects caused by gel formation and inducedhaze, it has been discovered that other sources of defects also cannegatively affect optical clarity of a clear film made by solventlessextrusion. Even though gel formation and induced haze problems can beovercome and yield high clarity extruded films, it was observed thatrandom defects were still produced in the finished film. These defectswere particularly noticeable in thin high gloss transparent filmsextruded to a thickness of about one to three mils. Tests conducted onfinished extruded films to determine the source of these random defectsrevealed that micron size contaminants (particle sizes of 10 microns orless) of various types were being introduced into the process. Theprimary sources of such contaminants were determined to be glass fibers,cellulose fibers, polymer dust, lint and the like—airborne contaminantsthat can enter the resin handling and extrusion coating process atvarious stages. Evaluation revealed that such airborne contaminants mayenter the process at the following stages:

[0158] (1) The resinous starting materials. This includes not only theclear coat resin starting materials, but also the resins for makingextruded sub-components of the finished laminate such as a coextrudedsize coat and backing sheet.

[0159] (2) The process of handling the resinous materials prior toextrusion. This can include the steps of blending the resin materials,drying the resin materials, and conveying the resin through the initialprocessing steps of blending and drying prior to transporting the dryblended extrudable resinous material to the commercial extruder.

[0160] (3) The production extrusion coating equipment. This includes thecarrier web prior to and after extrusion in which the web can pick upairborne contaminants either directly or by static electric charges.

[0161] An improved process for removing such airborne contaminants isillustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15. FIG. 14 schematically illustrates anextrusion process modified to prevent introduction of airbornecontaminants to production equipment coming into contact with theextruded film. FIG. 15 schematically illustrates processing steps forhandling resinous materials prior to extrusion so as to avoidintroducing airborne contaminants in the starting material after thestarting material is processed prior to extrusion.

[0162] The system for pre-processing the resin, as illustrated in FIG.15, includes a first container 280 for containing one resinous componentin particulate form and a second container 282 for containing anotherresinous component also in particulate form. In one embodiment theresinous component in the first container is a PVDF resin in the form ofcontaminant-free pellets. The resinous component in the second container282 can be acrylic and UV stabilizer resins blended in a pellet formalso in a contaminant-free condition. During processing, the materialscontained in containers 280 and 282 are transferred in parallel to ablender 284 through HEPA filtered lines 286 (HEPA filtration isdescribed in more detail below). In the blender 284 the resinousmaterials are dry blended into a “salt and pepper” mixture of extrudableresin pellets. The resin handling system is connected to a centralvacuum (not shown) through valve controlled HEPA filtered lines fordrawing in outside air on demand to transport the resin through thesystem. The outside air is filtered through separate HEPA filters 290 oneach of the resin containers. The resin containers are sealed to theoutside environment except for the air inlets that draw the outside airthrough the HEPA filters.

[0163] The vacuum pressure available from the central vacuum transfersthe blended resin pellets from the blender 284 through a HEPA filteredline 288 to a large volume pressurized resin dryer 292. Some resinmaterials may not require drying, however, acrylic resinous materialstypically contain a sufficient moisture content that requires removalprior to extrusion. (It is desirable to extrude the blended resinpellets in a dry form and therefore any water content is removed priorto extrusion.) Although the other resin materials (PVDF and UVstabilizer) may not require drying, they are blended and sent to thedryer with the acrylic resin to simplify resin handling. The dryer isoperated at a temperature of about 150° F. and is sealed from theoutside atmosphere. Air passing through the dryer comes from airsupply/return lines 294 on the outlet side of a dual column desiccantair dryer 296. Moist air from the dryer 292 is continuously returnedfrom the dryer to the desiccator columns 296 through inlet lines 298.Fresh air from the plant environment is constantly pulled in through aHEPA filter 300 and an intake snorkel 302 leading to the desiccatorcolumns 296. An electric heater and air blower 304 heat the air in thedesiccator columns and force heated dry air from the desiccators throughthe air supply/return lines 294 to the dryer 292 in a closed loop. Thedesiccator columns undergo alternate treatment cycles. While onedesiccator column is used to dry the moist air returned from the dryer,the desiccant bed in the other desiccator is redried through fresh HEPAfiltered air drawn in to regenerate the desiccant bed. An air exhaust(not shown) removes moisture from the desiccator columns. The dryblended resin pellets are then conveyed to the extruder via HEPAfiltered air in a line 306 passing from the resin dryer 292 to theextruder 308 shown in FIG. 14.

[0164] Thus, all resinous materials are conveyed through the blendingand drying stations and then to the extruder in a closed resin handlingsystem in which conveying air is HEPA filtered to prevent airbornecontaminants from the outside environment from entering the resinblending, drying and resin handling systems prior to conveying the resinto the extruder.

[0165] The resinous starting materials also are delivered to the systemcontaminant-free as described in more detail below.

[0166] The HEPA filters shown in FIG. 15 are high efficiency particulateair filters designed to filter micron size particulate substances fromthe air. These high efficiency filters typically include fused polymericfiber filter media and are designed with different efficiency levelsdepending upon the application. For the purposes of the presentinvention, HEPA air filtration is an air filtration efficiency levelsufficient to remove airborne particles that would otherwise cause anoticeable defect level in a one to three mil thick solventless extrudedclear film of high gloss. Techniques for measuring defect levels inextruded clear films have been described previously (C-charting) and arefurther described below.

[0167] A HEPA filter capable of removing particles lower than about 10microns in size is at least required for this invention. HEPA filtrationefficiency below about 5 micron particle size is preferable and HEPAfiltration efficiencies below about 0.7 to about 1.0 micron particlesize are more preferable. A presently preferred HEPA filter for use withthis invention is HEPA filter Model 2C2U10L rated at 99.99% efficiencyat 0.3 microns available from Clean Air Products, Inc., Ronkonkoma, N.Y.

[0168] The resin which has been processed in the resin handling,blending and drying system of FIG. 15 is transported via HEPA filteredair to the extrusion coating line illustrated in FIG. 14. The extrusioncoating line includes an unwind station 310 for storing a high gloss PETcarrier or casting sheet 312 similar to the PET carrier sheet describedpreviously. The casting sheet is unwound and passes through ananti-static vacuum station 314 and then around a pair of tacky roll webcleaner rolls 316 prior to passing to the extruder 308.

[0169] The anti-static vacuum station 314 removes any particles orcontaminants that adhere to the carrier from static electric charges.Ionized air is blown onto the web and static electric dust particles areremoved from the web. The anti-static vacuum system is available fromSimco.

[0170] The tacky roll web cleaner comprises a pair of low adhesive lintrolls for pulling dust and other debris particles off of one face of theweb. The tacky roll web cleaner rolls are available from R. G. Egan. Thetacky roll web cleaner rolls 316 clean contaminants from the coatingside of the web prior to the carrier sheet passing around idler rolls318 and then to the nip of a pressure roll 319 at the extrusion coatingstation 320.

[0171] The extruder 308 can comprise any of the extruders describedpreviously. The resinous materials transported to the extruder areextruded into a uniform clear coat film on the high gloss casting sheetby techniques described previously. In one embodiment the dry PVDFpellets are blended uniformly with the dry acrylic/UV stabilizer pelletsin the extruder. Through the application of heat, the resin materialsare extruded through the narrow gap die 322 as a uniform melt consistingof the blended PVDF/acrylic/UV stabilizer resins. The melt cast resin324 is illustrated in FIG. 14 being cast on the previouslydecontaminated surface of the web. As described previously, theextrusion coated web immediately passes through the nip of the pressureroll 319 and the chill roll 326 and is drawn into direct contact withthe highly polished surface of the chill roll 326 for cooling andhardening the melt cast clear coat film. The chill roll contact alsoimparts smoothness to the back side of the extrusion coated film. In theillustrated embodiment the gap width at the nip is about 30 to 40 milsand the height of the die from its extrusion opening to the nip is aboutsix to seven inches.

[0172] The coated web passes around the chill roll 326 and then aroundan idler roller 328 before passing around a second tacky roll webcleaner combination 330. This second pair of tacky rolls is identical torolls 316 and cleans contaminants from the side of the web opposite fromthe coating, prior to the finished coated web passing to a take-up rollstation 332.

[0173] In addition to the contaminant removal steps describedpreviously, other steps also can be taken to ensure filtering of micronsize airborne contaminants from the resin handling and extrusion system.These further steps can include wet cleaning of the floors in theproduction area, elevation of HEPA filtered air intake levels to wellabove floor level, and carrying out the processing steps of FIGS. 14 and15 in a HEPA filtered clean room environment. Such a clean roomenvironment preferably would have a class 10,000 or better rating forthe lamination equipment and the resin handling equipment. Preferablythe region of the extrusion head would be at least class 2,000 rating.This can be accomplished by operating the extrusion coating station in aseparate isolated booth which in one embodiment can be cubical in shapeand approximately 10 feet per side.

[0174] The extrusion coating system of FIG. 14 and HEPA filtered resinhandling and processing system of FIG. 15 can be used for producingvarious types of clear films and laminates according to this invention.For example, the FIGS. 14 and 15 embodiments were described with respectto producing a single layer extruded clear film made from a combinationof PVDF and acrylic resins with a UV stabilizer pre-blended with theacrylic resin. Alternatively, the invention can be adapted for use withother polymeric materials for making other extruded clear films such asmedical grade polyethylene or polyurethane, or other weatherable clearpolymeric films made from vinyl resins, urethanes, or other acrylics,fluoropolymers or polyolefin resins, for example. In addition, theprocessing equipment can be adapted for making coextrusions. Forautomotive laminates as described previously, the processing equipmentcan be adapted for blending, drying and handling the resins in a closedHEPA filtered environment prior to coextrusion. The coextrusion andlamination steps also can be carried out to prevent contamination fromairborne particulates. Examples of such coextruded laminates arecoextruded ABS backing sheet and acrylic size coat combinations, or acoextruded TPO backing sheet and CPO size coat. As a furtheralternative, a CPO bonding layer can be coextruded as a tie coat with anacrylic size coat and a TPO backing sheet. Other coextrusions of similarbonding layers and backing sheet materials include ABS, polycarbonate,polyarylate, nylon, urethane, vinyl and fluoropolymer resins, forexample.

[0175] As mentioned previously, the starting materials for the extrusionprocess of FIGS. 14 and 15 are initially produced in a contaminant-freecondition. The starting materials also are transferred to the productionsite so as to ensure a contamination-free state prior to use in theextrusion process.

[0176] Resinous materials for use in making the extrudable films of thisinvention require the highest quality resins such as those characterizedas CD optical grade resins. Resins for use in the present invention areproduced by various industrial processes that commonly yield a resin inpowder form. By virtue of the manufacturing process, introduction offoreign contaminants may occur. The resins for this invention must bemade free of such contaminants, which can include hard particulates fromthe manufacturing process such as carbon, metal bits, glass fibers andgels produced by oxidation, corrosion or contamination. The process ofmanufacturing and handling the raw material also must preventintroduction of airborne contaminants. Production and handling in cleanroom environments and by HEPA filtration can produce high qualitystarting materials. Contamination of the raw material also can occurwhen certain different resins are blended into pellet form such as theacrylic and UV stabilizer resins described previously. In this instancethe production process, including resin handling and blending of thedifferent resins, is carried out to avoid introduction of foreigncontaminants and airborne particles. Any extrusion of the startingmaterial components also must be carried out below gel formationtemperatures to avoid gels or similar defects in the starting material.

EXAMPLE 16

[0177] In one embodiment of this invention, a high quality extrudedtransparent outer clear coat film is produced by a combination of PVDFand acrylic resins and a UV stabilizer material as described previously.The starting material for the PVDF component comprises the extrusiongrade homopolymer Kynar 720 available from Elf Atochem. This PVDF resinis a preferred starting material for exterior automotive clear coatfilms because of its better abrasion resistance and refractive indexwhen compared with the PVDF copolymer Kynar 2850 which is more flexibleand may be more useful in certain non-exterior automotive applications.The acrylic resin component is the highest quality CD optical grade PMMAresin VS100 available from Elf Atoglass. The UV stabilizer comprisesTinuvin 234 available from Ciba Geigy. These starting materials areessentially contaminant-free as described previously. The acrylic resinand UV stabilizer materials are initially compounded into pellets. Thecompounding process also involves avoiding introduction of contaminantsincluding HEPA filtering and other measures similar to those describedpreviously.

[0178] The starting materials can be checked for their contaminant-freestate by first extruding each material as a free sheet and thenmeasuring it for defects. For instance, the compounded acrylic resin/UVstabilizer pellets can be extruded as a thin sheet, and according to onetest, the material is fit for use if it has an average defect level of 3or less defects over an area 12 inches long by 15 inches wide for asheet extruded to a thickness of about 4 mils. The minimum size of thedefects involved in such defect count is in a range of about 0.4 to 1.0mm². Any defects larger in size may lead to rejection of the startingmaterial.

[0179] The PVDF and compounded acrylic resin/UV stabilizer materials areprocessed according to the resin handling and extrusion processdescribed for FIGS. 14 and 15. The initial compounding ratio is 60 partsPVDF resin, 40 parts acrylic resin and two pph UV stabilizer. Theextruder comprised a Black Clawson single screw extruder having a screwdiameter of about six inches and a length of about 16 feet (L:D ratio of32:1).

[0180] The melt temperature (° F.) data were as follows: Barrel 1 360Adapter 1 400 Barrel 2 375 Adapter 2 400 Barrel 3 375 Downspout 400Barrel 4 375 Die 1 430 Barrel 5 375 Die 2 400 Barrel 6 375 Die 3 400Flange 400 Die 4 400 Die 5 430

[0181] Extruder operating conditions were as follows: RPM  25 Line speed(ft/sec) 170 Melt psi 540 Amps 239 Melt Temp (° F.) 402 Corona treateroff Chill Roll Temp (° F.)  61

[0182] A clear coat film made from these starting materials and extrudedby the process of FIGS. 14 and 15 yielded an essentially defect freefilm. Defects were avoided from such sources as gel formation, inducedhaze and airborne contaminants. Defects were measured over an area of1,248 square inches for a clear coat high gloss film extruded to athickness of one mil. A typical approach for measuring defects is tooverlay a TAPPI dirt estimation chart on the extruded sheet and to countthe number of defects within the average surface area according to testmethods T213 and T437. The film is considered essentially defect free ifover this average surface area the defect count is 3 or less wheremeasurable defect sizes are in the range of about 0.4 to 1.0 mm² Defectslarger than 1.0 mm² are considered unacceptable. Defect sizes below 0.4mm are considered undetectable to the eye. The finished film also wasmeasured for haze on a standard haze meter and was essentially hazefree, measuring less than 0.9 percent haze. A maximum haze value of 1.0percent is considered acceptable.

EXAMPLE 17

[0183] An extruded transparent clear coat film is made by the process ofExample 16, with the following modifications. The extruder was a3.5-inch, 32:1 L:D Black Clawson with a twin flight barrier screw,operated at moderate compression in the range of 3:1 to 3.5:1. Thisexample has shown that improvements in extrusion coating are producedwith a moderate compression ratio in the range of about 2.5:1 to about5:1, and preferably about 3:1 to about 4:1. An advantage of thisextruder is reduced feed surging, resulting in a more stable melt andoutput from the extruder, which in turn yields a flatter web profile inthe machine and cross web directions. The 3.5-inch extruder with the lowshear moderate compression ratio barrier screw provided an excellentbalance in output, residence time and shear with the added benefit ofreduced web profile variation when compared with the 6-inch singleflight screw of Example 16. Surging and down web variation was reducedfrom +/−25 percent or more from nominal output to less than 5 percenttotal variation from nominal—less than the gauge noise level on singlescans using an NDC Beta gauge device. Output with the twin flightmoderate compression ratio barrier screw was equal to the 6-inch singleflight screw of Example 16, yielding an ability to run a 56-inch widecoating at 38 gsm nominal thickness at line speeds greater than 300 fpm.

[0184] The extruded clear coat films of Example 16 and 17 can both beused for various applications requiring weatherable protective clearfilms of glass-like transparency. As mentioned previously, the inventioncan be used as a protective film for substrate panels made of polymericmaterials, metal or glass. The invention also can be used for makinghigh quality transparent free films such as medical grade or food gradeplastic sheet materials and the like.

EXAMPLE 18

[0185] One use of the extruded high transparency clear coat films ofExamples 16 and 17 is for exterior automotive laminates. In oneembodiment, the extruded clear film is coated with a pigmented base coatpaint film as described in previous examples. The base coat ispreferably coated by solvent casting such as by reverse roll coater. Thepaint coat can comprise various thermoformable polymeric materials aspreviously described and can contain dispersed reflective flakes.Following drying of the base coat the carrier-supported base coat/clearcoat film then can be laminated to a polymeric backing sheet and sizecoat which are coextruded as described previously. In one embodiment,the coextruded backing sheet and size coat are made of ABS and anacrylic resin, respectively.

[0186] Starting materials for making the ABS/acrylic coextrusion were asfollows. The ABS resin was Cycolac LSA from General Electric. This resinmust be of highest quality, essentially free of contaminants. Theacrylic resin was the highest quality CD grade resin designatedH-16-200, from Cyro, a rubber modified PMMA resin. The process formaking these resins is controlled to enhance cleanliness so as to avoidgenerating defects from sources such as carbon, glass fibers, metal bitsand gels. Both resin starting materials also are handled by the HEPAfiltration techniques described previously to avoid contamination.Extruder A (ABS) had a screw diameter of 4½ inches and extruder B(acrylic) had a screw diameter of 2½ inches. Dried resin pellets fromthe ABS and acrylic starting materials are fed into the hoppers on thetop of each extruder via vacuum tubes. From the hoppers, the pellets aregravity fed into the feed section of the extruder barrel. The pelletsare screen fed through the barrel and heated to a molten state. The tworesins in each extruder are fed through their respective barrel sectionsto a single combining block and then into the die of the extruder in amanner similar to that described in previous examples. The molten sheetexits the die and runs through a three roll calendering (polishing)stack which polishes both sides of the sheet. As the sheet travels downthe line, it is cooled by passing it over chilled steel rolls andfinally is wound up into a take-up roll. The final sheet comprises anapproximately 1.0 mil thick acrylic lacquer size coat and anapproximately 18 mil thick ABS backing sheet for a total laminatethickness of about 19 to 20 mils.

[0187] Coextrusion conditions were as follows: Extruder A (ABS) - MeltTemp (° F.) Barrel Zone 1 435 Cyl. 400 Barrel Zone 2 450 Free 400 BarrelZone 3 300 Die 1 403 Barrel Zone 4 240 Die 2 407 Barrel Zone 5 320 Die 3400 SC Body 400 Die 4 400 Gate 400 Die 5 400

[0188] RPM 100

[0189] Drive amps 200

[0190] Back pressure (psi) 4,000 Extruder B (acrylic) - Melt Temp (° F.)Barrel Zone 1 490 Tube 1 450 Barrel Zone 2 510 Tube 2 450 Barrel Zone 3200 Adapter 1 400 Barrel Zone 4 490 Adapter 2 420 SC Body 450

[0191] RPM 21

[0192] Drive amps 61

[0193] Back pressure (psi) 4,000

[0194] Top calender roll temp (° F.) 130

[0195] Middle roll 180

[0196] Bottom roll 140

[0197] Line speed (fpm) 60

[0198] The following observations were made with respect to the opticalquality of products made by the process of this invention. With respectto the extruded clear coat/solvent cast color coat film laminated to thecoextruded ABS backing sheet and acrylic size coat, significant defectreductions were observed. Laminates made without the handling/filtrationprocess of this invention yielded from ten to over 100 defects per 24inch by 36 inch laminate surface area. These defects were reduced toless than three per area when the handling/filtration process was used.Generally speaking, a gel count reduction of over 80% was observed. Inaddition, the sizes of gels were reduced. Without the filtration processof this invention, gel sizes were over 10 microns, whereas with theprocess of this invention, gel sizes were reduced to one micron or less.

[0199] Similar results were observed for extruded clear coats made withthe HEPA filtration process of this invention. Films observed to haveover one hundred defects in a 24 inch by 36 inch surface area werereduced to gel counts of 3 or less for a one mil coating over the samesurface area. The gel count sizes were within the 0.4 mm to 1.0 mm rangedescribed previously.

[0200] With respect to the laminate described above, there was also asignificant increase in measured DOI. For instance an initial DOI of 60for a laminate not made by the process of this invention will increaseabout 3 to 5 units to about 63 to 65 with the HEPA filtration process ofthis invention.

[0201] As to DOI measurements generally, base coat/clear coat paintfilms in which the clear coat layers are made by extrusion techniques ofthis invention (with and without HEPA filtration) were compared withbase coat/clear coat paint films made by solvent casting the clear coatlayers. The paint films were subjected to the previously describedprocess of laminating to a semi-rigid polymeric backing sheet andthermoforming to a three-dimensional shape with elongation in excess of50%. In the critical areas of the finished parts, DOI measurements weretaken with the Dorigon D47R-6 instrument and by a DOI instrumentmanufactured by ATI. Generally speaking, the ATI readings wereapproximately 97% the reading obtained with the Dorigon instrument, andtherefore the readings were considered comparable. DOI measurementsgenerally showed a 5 to 10 percent improvement for both solid colors andfor metallic automotive paint films. Mar resistance also improved,particularly with the formulation of Example 5. DOI readings weregenerally in excess of 70 for parts having the solvent cast clear coatlayer and were generally in excess of 70 to 80 for parts having theextruded clear coat layers. In one set of DOI measurements for a redmetallic automotive facia part, DOI in the critical areas was about 10units higher for parts having the extruded clear coat layer whencompared with parts having the solvent cast clear coat layer.

[0202] The extrusion coated paint film also can be laminated to backingsheets and bonding layers coextruded from other materials. In anotherembodiment, a TPO backing sheet can be coextruded with a CPO tie coatlayer. In order to enhance adhesion to a PVDF/acrylic base coat/clearcoat film, the CPO tie coat also can be coextruded with an acrylic outersize coat layer. The starting materials for such a three-layerTPO/CPO/acrylic coextrusion are as follows:

[0203] The acrylic layer is made from the same PMMA acrylic resindescribed previously, H-16-200 CD optical grade resin from Cyro.

[0204] The CPO resin is a chlorinated polypropylene available under thedesignation 13-LP from Toyo-Hardlen. This CPO resin has been found to beextrudable, and as mentioned previously, the material must bemanufactured free of contaminants. The CPO cannot contact standardferrous steel equipment in the process of making the pellets, and thematerial must be extruded with a melt temperature limit below about 425°F. when compounding the initial pellets. A melt temperature of about400° to 410° F. is preferred to avoid gel formation. The initial CPOresin starting material is preferably modified with an epoxy resinavailable from Shell under the designation EPON. This material also musthave the highest quality cleanliness grade as described previously.Several trials were conducted blending the dry materials (CPO and epoxyresin) into pellets containing 2 percent and 4 percent EPON. Extruderbarrel temperatures of 300 to 350° F. with the 4 percent EPON blendproduced good melt strength to draw down as low as ½ mil.

[0205] Other extrudable resins that may be used for the TPO tie coatlayer include an acrylate-based resin ADMER SE-800 from Mitsui Plasticsand a urethane-based resin RGD-174 also known as MOE-II from ElfAtochem. Extrudable TPO tie coat resins also can be selected from otherethylene-vinyl acetate, acrylate, ethylene-acrylate, polypropylene-vinylacetate and urethane-based resins in addition to chlorinated andmodified chlorinated bonding materials.

[0206] The TPO starting material can be any extrudable TPO resin and apreferred TPO resin is E-1501-TF from Solvay. The TPO starting materialmust be manufactured and subjected to handling sufficiently that the rawmaterial is free of defects and contaminants as mentioned previously.HEPA filtration handling and a manufacturing process that preventsintroduction of foreign contaminants must be used to produce acontaminant-free starting material.

[0207] In one trial a TPO backing sheet approximately 18 mils thick wascoextruded with a CPO tie layer approximately one mil thick and anacrylic size layer approximately one mil thick. Extruder operatingconditions were as follows: Extruder A B C Extruder size (in.)  1 3/4  1Resin TPO CPO Acrylic Zone 1 (° F.) 380 284 390 Zone 2 (° F.) 410 329450 Zone 3 (° F.) 410 374 450 Melt T (° F.) 435 422 Pressure (psi)4,000   1,131   5,000   Rpm 105  50  8

[0208] As mentioned previously, the substrate backing sheet and bondinglayers (size coat and/or tie coat) must be essentially free of defectsin the finished form of the laminate so that the defects are nottransmitted to the surface of the high gloss clear coat film when thebase coat/clear coat film is bonded to the coextruded backing sheet andbonding layer. A coextruded backing sheet/bonding layer is considered tobe defect free if a 19 to 20 mil thick extruded sheet contains on thesurface of the bonding layer no more than about 3 defects in a giventest area of 24 by 36 inches where each defect has a measurable size inthe ranged of about 0.4 to 1.0 mm².

[0209] The coextrusions of this example are preferably made bycoextruding the backing sheet and its bonding layer (or layers) througha polished three-roll calender stack as described in previous examples.The flexible paint film supported by its carrier is fed into thecalender roll stack and laminated to the coextrusion also as describedin previous examples.

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
 1. A process for extruding a high transparency clearfilm from a particulate resinous starting material, comprising the stepsof: providing a solventless resinous starting material in particulateform essentially free of contaminants above about 10 microns in size,the resinous material contained in a sealed container to preventintroduction of contaminants from the ambient environment; conveyingsaid resinous material from the sealed container to an extrusionapparatus in a closed airflow transport system in which transport airfor conveying said resinous material is subjected to high efficiencyfiltration to prevent introduction of contaminants above about 10microns in size from the ambient environment into the airflow thattransports the resinous material to the extrusion apparatus; andextruding the resinous material via the extrusion apparatus to form atransparent extruded clear coat film essentially free of such filteredcontaminants.
 2. The process according to claim 1 in which the resinousstarting material is conveyed from the sealed -container to a dryer fordrying at least a portion of the resinous material prior to transportingthe dried resinous material to the extrusion apparatus; and in which theresinous material is conveyed from the sealed container to the dryer andfrom the dryer to the extrusion apparatus in said closed airflowtransport system, including subjecting the air used to transport and drythe resinous material to said high efficiency filtration.
 3. The processaccording to claim 2 in which moist air removed from the dryer andpasses to a desiccant in a closed fresh air supply-driven recirculatingairflow transport system in which fresh air drawn in from the ambientenvironment and used as transport and drying air is subjected to saidhigh efficiency filtration.
 4. The process according to claim 3 in whichthe resinous starting material comprises at least two differentpolymeric materials each of which is separately conveyed from the sealedcontainer to a sealed blending apparatus in said closed airflowtransport system, and in which the blended resinous material istransported from the blending apparatus to the dryer in said closedairflow transport system.
 5. The process according to claim 1 includingextrusion coating the resinous material onto a traveling polymericcarrier sheet, and in which opposite sides of the carrier sheet contacttacky roll web cleaners for removing airborne particles from the carrierbefore and after extrusion coating.
 6. The process according to claim 1including neutralizing static electric charges on the carrier sheet toremove attracted airborne particles from the carrier sheet prior toextrusion coating.
 7. The process according to claim 1 in which thetransporting and extruding steps are carried out in a high efficiencyair filtered clean room environment which exceeds a class 10,000 rating.8. The process according to claim 7 in which the vicinity of theextrusion die is contained within a clean room environment which exceedsa class 2,000 rating.
 9. The process according to claim 1 includingpreparing the resinous starting material in a high efficiency airfiltered clean room environment which exceeds a class 10,000 rating. 10.The process according to claim 1 in which the extruded clear coat filmhas an average defect level of 3 or less defects for an extruded one milthick film over a measured average area of 1,248 sq. inches in whichmeasurable defect size is in the range of about 0.4 to 1.0 mm².
 11. Theprocess according to claim 1 in which conveying air in the closedairflow transport system is filtered by high efficiency filtrationcapable of filtering out airborne particles above about 5 microns insize.
 12. The process according to claim 11 in which such filtration iseffective for filtering out airborne particles below about one micron insize.
 13. The process according to claim 11 in which the startingmaterial is 99.99% free of particulate contaminants lower than about 5microns in size.
 14. The process according to claim 1 includingextruding the resinous material in a moderate compression ratio extruderhaving a compression ratio between about 2.5:1 to about 5:1.
 15. Theprocess according to claim 1 in which the extruded clear coat filmcomprises blended polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and acrylic resins. 16.The process according to claims 1 in which the PVDF component comprisesa PVDF copolymer.
 17. A process for extruding a resinous material bysolventless extrusion to form a high gloss high transparency clear filmessentially free of optical defects, comprising the steps of: providinga solventless resinous starting material in particulate form essentiallyfree of contaminants above about 10 microns in size; extrusion coatingsaid resinous material through an extrusion die onto a carrier sheettraveling past the extrusion die opening to form said extruded clearfilm on the carrier sheet; and immediately hardening the clear film onthe traveling carrier sheet; the resinous starting material conveyed tothe extruder in a closed airflow transport system in which the transportair is filtered by high efficiency filtration to remove airborneparticles above about 10 microns in size from the transport air prior toextrusion of the clear film.
 18. The process according to claim 17 inwhich the extruded clear film has an average defect level of 3 or lessfor an extruded one mil thick film over a measured area of 1,248 sq.inches in which a defect has a measurable size in the range of about 0.4to 1.0 mm².
 19. The process according to claim 17 in which the air inthe closed air flow transport system is filtered by HEPA filtrationcapable of filtering out particles below about one micron in size. 20.The process according to claim 17 in which the extrusion coatingapparatus is contained entirely within a clean room environment whichexceeds a class 10,000 rating.
 21. The process according to claim 17 inwhich the resinous starting material is conveyed to a dryer for dryingthe resinous material prior to transporting the dried resinous materialto the extrusion apparatus, and in which the resinous material isconveyed to the dryer and from the dryer to the extrusion apparatus in aclosed pressurized airflow transport system subjected to high efficiencyfiltration of the air used to transport and dry the resinous material.22. The process according to claim 21 in which moist air is removed fromthe dryer and passes to a desiccant in a closed fresh air supply-drivenrecirculating airflow transport system in which fresh air used astransport and drying air is subjected to HEPA filtration.
 23. Theprocess according to claim 17 including neutralizing static electriccharges on the carrier sheet to remove attracted airborne particles fromthe carrier sheet prior to extrusion coating the carrier.
 24. Theprocess according to claim 17 including extruding the resinous materialonto a traveling polymeric carrier sheet in which opposite sides of thecarrier sheet contact tacky roll web cleaners for removing airborneparticles from the carrier before and after extrusion coating.
 25. Theprocess according to claim 21 in which the resinous starting materialcomprises at least two different polymeric materials each of which isseparately conveyed to a blending apparatus in said closed airflowtransport system, and in which the blended resinous material istransported from the blending apparatus to the dryer in said closedairflow transport system.
 26. The process according to claim 17including extruding the resinous material in a moderate compressionratio extruder having a compression ratio between about 2.5:1 and about5:1.
 27. The process according to claim 17 in which the extruded clearcoat film comprises blended polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and acrylicresins.
 28. The process according to claim 27 in which the PVDFcomponent comprises a PVDF copolymer.
 29. The process according to claim17 including extrusion coating the resinous material by solventlessextrusion and immediately hardening the extruded coating by pressurecontact of the coating with a cooling device while the hardened coatingis supported on the carrier sheet.
 30. The process according to claim 29in which the cooling device is a chill roll operated at a temperaturebelow about 80CF for rapidly cooling the extruded coating from itsextrusion temperature to approximately room temperature while in contactwith the chill roll.
 31. The process according to claim 30 in which theextruded material is hardened in less than about 3 seconds at a linespeed in excess of about 150 feet/minute.
 32. The process according toclaim 29 in which the extruded coating is cooled to below its lowestsignificant glass transition temperature for hardening the extrudedcoating.
 33. The process according to claim 29 in which the extrudedmaterial comprises a blended polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and acrylicresin, followed by coating a pigmented color coat on the extruded andhardened clear coat while supported on the carrier sheet.
 34. Theprocess according to claim 33 including laminating the clear coat layerand color coat from the carrier sheet to a thermoformable polymericbacking sheet to form a paint coated sheet, followed by thermoformingthe sheet to a three-dimensional contour, the paint coat on the finishedsheet having a DOI greater than about
 60. 35. The process according toclaim 27 in which the melt viscosities of the acrylic component of theextruded material at shear rates of 100, 500 and 1000 sec⁻¹ are within375, 125 and 100 Pas·sec, respectively, of the melt viscosities of thePVDF component, at a melt temperature of about 215° C.
 36. An extrudedpolymeric film of high transparency essentially free of defects formedby solventless extrusion as a thin film of essentially uniformthickness, the film having an average of 3 defects or less per measuredarea of 1,248 sq. inches in a film extruded at a thickness ofapproximately one mil in which the defects have a measurable size in therange of about 0.4 to 1.0 mm².
 37. The product according to claim 36 inwhich the extruded film comprises a blend of PVDF or PVDF copolymer andacrylic resins.
 38. The product according to claim 37 in which the filmcomprises about 55% to 65% of said PVDF resin, about 35% to 45% acrylicresin and a minor amount of a blended UV stabilizer.
 39. An extrudedlaminate comprising a coextruded semi-rigid polymeric backing sheet andbonding layer bonded to a decorative film layer which includes anextruded outer clear coat film formed by solventless extrusion, in whichthe clear coat film surface of said laminate has an average of no morethan 3 defects in a test area of 24×36 inches in which the measurablesize of a defect is in the range of about 0.4 to 1.0 mm².
 40. Theproduct according to claim 39 in which the coextruded backing sheet andbonding layer comprise ABS and acrylic resins, respectively.
 41. Theproduct according to claim 39 in which the coextruded backing sheet andbonding layer comprise thermoplastic olefin (TPO) and chlorinatedpolyolefin (CPO) resins, respectively.
 42. The product according toclaim 41 in which the coextrusion comprises a TPO backing sheet, a CPOtie coat and an acrylic resinous size coat.
 43. The product according toclaim 39 in which the coextruded backing sheet comprises a polyolefinresin, including polyethylene and polypropylene, and in which thebonding layer is selected from the group which includes chlorinatedpolyolefin, ethylene-vinyl acetate, acrylate, ethylene-acrylate,propylene-vinyl acetate, and urethane resins.
 44. A process for making ahigh transparency extruded polymeric film, comprising providing astarting material comprising a solventless and extrudable polymericmaterial in particulate form essentially free of contaminants having aparticle size above about 10 microns; conveying the starting material toa resin dryer, in which the starting material is conveyed to the dryerin a HEPA filtered closed airflow transport line, in which drying airforced through the dryer for drying said starting material is treated ina separate air dryer for removing moisture from the drying air, and inwhich the drying air is subjected to HEPA filtration for removingairborne contaminants greater than about 10 microns in size from thedrying air; conveying the dried extrudable polymeric starting materialin a HEPA filtered closed air flow transport line from the resin dryerto an extruder; and extruding the dried starting material as a highlytransparent polymeric film essentially free of defects caused by saidfiltered airborne contaminants.
 45. The process according to claim 44 inwhich the extruded clear coat film has an average defect level of 3 orless defects for an extruded one mil thick film over a measured averagearea of 1,248 sq. inches in which measurable defect size is in the rangeof about 0.4 to 1.0 mm².
 46. A process for making a high transparencypolymeric film comprising: providing a solventless extrudable polymericresinous starting material in particulate form essentially free ofcontaminants having a particle size above about 10 microns; subjectingat least a portion of the starting material to HEPA filtered drying airin a dryer; conveying the starting material to the dryer and then fromthe dryer to an extruder via HEPA filtered air in a closed airflowtransport system; extruding the dried starting material through anextruder as a melt cast film coated on a traveling casting sheet;removing airborne contaminants greater than about 10 microns in sizefrom the casting sheet at least before the coating is extruded onto thecasting sheet; and hardening the coated film on the casting sheet by atemperature reduction to form a finished polymeric film on the castingsheet and thereafter removing the casting sheet from the finished filmto provide a high transparency polymeric film essentially free ofdefects caused by said filtered airborne contaminants.
 47. The processaccording to claim 46 in which the extruded clear coat film has anaverage defect level of 3 or less defects for an extruded one mil thickfilm over a measured average area of 1,248 sq. inches in whichmeasurable defect size is in the range of about 0.4 to 1.0 mm².